Stormborn
by Air-and-water123
Summary: Aang White, an elite warrior and the last of a powerful race known as "The Stormborn" who can create powerful storms at their will protects the city of New Ozai from an unseen enemy. After benders start disappearing off the streets, he follows the trail and discovers a plot to take over the world. Will he be able to stop it in time? Or will the world be changed forever? Kataang
1. Chapter 1: The Coming Storm

Chapter 1: The Coming Storm

**Hey guys! Welcome to my new story "Stormborn"! It's going to be my first action-based story and is going to be a little different than the ones I've written so far. In this AU, Aang was never raised by the Air Nomad way of thinking, so there will be lots of violence and killing done by him throughout the story, just so you guys know. I should also mention that Aang's primary weapon is going to be a lot like the hidden blade from Assassin's Creed and will wear a hood when out on missions, but otherwise will not include anything else from that, so I'm not calling it a crossover. Also, in this story, there are benders, but there is no Avatar or reincarnation cycle. The Stormborn people are basically all Avatars, as in they can bend all elements and were stronger than the other benders, but they were a whole people instead of just one Avatar. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoy! **

**Ages: Aang: 24 Katara: 23 Sokka: 25 Suki: 25 **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

It was a cool, crisp night in the city of New Ozai; Or as it was more commonly known, the city of a Thousand Lies. Two guards stood watch outside of a gigantic warehouse behind them, enjoying the fresh autumn breeze blowing softly through their hair. They had recently been hired for a job that they could not refuse. "Can you believe it Paul?" the first guard asked the other excitedly. "We're getting paid thirty bucks an hour to just stand out here all night while they do whatever it is they do in there. I almost feel bad for taking their money."

"Trust me Jack, you don't want to know what they do in there," the other guard told him. "It's not pretty."

Jack's curiosity peaked. "Oh, you've been in there before?" Paul nodded. "What goes on in there? I mean, I know I hear screams sometimes, but-"

"But nothing," Paul interrupted him. "We're not supposed to know what goes on in there. The only reason I know is because there was a security breach a couple weeks ago that required everyone on hand to help with it. There's some pretty messed up stuff going on in there, so I wouldn't think about it too much."

Jack looked like he wanted to argue, but he eventually let it drop with a sigh, "Okay, if you say so." He looked around at the sky before him and noticed some dark clouds coming ahead. "Looks like we're going to get some rain soon."

"What?" the other guard asked. He looked up into the sky and saw the dark clouds approaching and gasped.

"What's going on?" Jack questioned. "Is someone afraid of thunderstorms?" he teased.

The guard was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "No, not of thunderstorms, but of what their presence in this city usually means."

Jack raised a brow and leaned back against the wall. "What do you mean? Thunderstorms happen all the time here."

"Yeah," he agreed. "They do, but not naturally."

Jack looked at him as if he was crazy. "What do you mean 'not naturally'? Last time I checked, no one could create a storm."

"That's where you're wrong," Paul shook his head. "Thousands of years ago, there used to be these people called The Stormborn."

"The Stormborn?" Jack asked sarcastically. "What exactly did these 'Stormborn' people do? Send rain to helpless villages? Make some loud thunder to annoy their neighbors?"

Paul chuckled lowly, "No, more like summoned tsunamis and hurricanes to fight for them." Jack's eyes widened in surprise, but kept his mouth closed. "Legends say that these people had the power to control the clouds and the ability to control the winds and the waves. Some even say that they could use lightning to their will."

Jack scoffed, "Please. There's no way any of that's real. Legends are legends for a reason. They're made up, make-believe."

"If only," Paul said wistfully. "I guess you'll see eventually."

"I'll see what eventually?" Jack asked slowly.

Paul didn't say anything for a moment. "What a lot of people don't know about the Stormborn is that there's one left."

"Yeah right," Jack waved him off. "Those are just legends."

"But they're not," Paul argued. "I've seen security tapes from another facility where the Stormborn attacked. It was a massacre," he shuddered. "No survivors."

Jack just rolled his eyes. "Okay, whatever you say, man. If you want to believe in stupid legends, go ahead." The dark rain clouds were now above them, crackling with energy as the thunder rolled. "See? Nothing to worry about. It's just a-" The lights went out before he could finish his statement, making him get a little nervous. "Um, Paul?" There was no response. "Paul?" he asked more nervously. Still nothing. He heard a footstep from behind him and turned around with his gun out, but saw nothing. He let out a sigh of relief just as a large knife appeared from his chest and a hand came over his mouth, stifling his scream.

"For what it's worth," a low voice whispered to him, "I'm sorry." The knife slowly pulled out of his body until Jack dropped to the ground dead at the stranger's feet. The attacker looked down in pity at the recently deceased man. "I'm sorry to have to waste your life, but my work is too important to allow liabilities," he spoke softly as he looked down at the body. "May you find peace." And with that, he stepped back and took a good look at the building in the light of the full moon. _This building is well protected, _he thought as he surveyed it. Looking for any kind of entrance, he noticed an open window on the third floor. _Perfect. _He wiped off the blood on his blade and couldn't help but admire it. It had been of his own invention: A retractable knife that was placed on the inside of his sleeve, making it nearly invisible to the human eye, and the perfect concealed weapon for close-quarters combat. _Now's not the time for admiring my handywork,_ he chided himself. _I've got a corrupt official to kill._ He took a deep breath and started running to the window. Just as he was about to run into the wall, he guided the air around him to boost him up onto the window ledge, hanging onto it before he went inside to survey the room. _Two guards and one of them's asleep. This'll be too easy. _Slowly pulling himself up into the room, he crouched down and moved noiselessly to the awake guard who was sitting in a chair watching the entrance. He quickly stabbed him and covered his mouth as a small scream was muffled into his hand and soon fell limp. Aang took the computer chair the guard was sitting in and moved it over to a dark corner of the room, making it nearly impossible to tell that he was dead. Once he was sure that no one would be able to tell, he creeped over to the sleeping guard and made him go into an endless slumber as well, quickly covering the body with blankets before he got back to work.

The room ahead of him was completely out of place for a warehouse. It was designed beautifully with expensive looking furniture and artwork on each wall and polished marble floors, giving it the appearance of a vacation home. The problem with it was that it was filled with guards, too many to take on without raising the alarm, so he would have to find a way around them. A large chandelier hung from the middle of the room, high enough that no one would notice him climbing it to get to the balcony on the other side of the room. "That'll do it," Aang whispered to himself. Checking to make sure there were no guards around him, he crept his way over to a wall that led to the center part of the room and looked around the corner, seeing a few guards laughing and playing poker. _I need to find a way to distract them. _An idea formed in his mind as he noticed a large expensive-looking vase sitting on a pedestal on the other side of the room where one guard stood watch. _Perfect_. Making a motion with his hand, the wind obeyed his command and knocked over the vase, startling all of the guards in the process. "Franky! You knocked over the vase! Do you know how much that was worth?!"

"No I didn't!" Aang assumed the guard who must be Franky argued. "It just fell!"

Another guard scoffed, "Yeah, right. You just so happen to be right next to it, and it magically falls on it's own?"

"But I-"

"Save it!" another one shouted. "You've broken too many things of the boss, Franky. Now you're going to pay." The group of guards grabbed Franky and dragged him outside of the room.

"Wait! I'm sorry! I promise, it won't happen again!" he cried out desperately.

"It's a little too late for 'sorry' Franky. The boss wants you to pay," the first guard informed him without much regret.

They dragged him out of the room and Aang let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry 'Franky', but you become a target when you work for an evil man," he whispered to himself. Seeing that the room was now clear, he dashed to the middle of the room and had the air carry him up to the chandelier and flipped over so that he was crouched on the outside of the chandelier. He took out the schematics of the warehouse he had acquired and looked at it closely, memorizing every last detail. "Okay, Zhao's office is down that hall," he pointed to straight across from him and put it back in his pocket. "You've betrayed the people you were supposed to protect for the last time. It's time to meet your end." Jumping quickly to the ledge in front of him, he checked to make sure there were no guards and pulled himself up. As he crept down the hall, he noticed prisoners being held in cells. Some looked like they were beaten and others looked like they were starved. One stood out from the rest: a beautiful caramel colored young girl sitting in a corner with a defiant expression on her face. _I need to know what's going on here,_ he thought. _She may be the only one who's not scared enough to tell me..._ _But what about the mission?_ An internal battle raged through his mind until the girl looked up and noticed him, staring deeply into his eyes curiously. He put up a finger to silence her and moved over to her cell while she came closer against her better judgement. "What's going on here? Why are these people being held captive?" Aang whispered.

She didn't say anything for a moment and took in everything about the stranger. He wore a white t-shirt underneath a leather jacket with a black hood on it which obscured his face along with a pair of jeans and a pair of worn out sneakers. For some reason he also wore dark leather gloves on his hands, despite it being just barely out of August. Muscles bulged from his clothes as if they were trying to escape their confines, causing her jaw to drop and a little drool to escape her mouth. "Hello?" Her eyes snapped back up to his face and she got a better look at him. He had pale white skin and black hair covering his beautiful dark gray eyes; not to mention that he was _very _good-looking. "Hello?" he repeated worriedly. "Are you alright?"

Finally snapping out of her daze, she nodded. "Yeah, I'm just a little out of it since they've been starving us," she half-lied.

"So what's going on here?" Aang asked again.

"Who are you?" she countered. "How do I know that you're not one of the guards trying to get me in trouble?"

Aang grinned, "Trust me, I'm not with the mayor. Let's just say I've got some… _business_ to settle with him."

Her curiosity peaked. "Really?" He nodded. "Well, what are you going to do?"

"I don't have time to explain," he said quickly while checking to make sure there were no guards. "Can you please just tell me what's going on here? Who are all these people?"

The dark-skinned beauty was silent for a moment before she finally gave in. "Everyone here are benders. The mayor here has been rounding up different benders from the city for some reason," she explained. "They starve or beat us into submission until we agree to do certain tests that they ask of us. From what I've seen, they're not pleasant. People who do the tests usually come back looking worse than before, but I have no idea what the tests are. All I know is that they're working on something big."

"Thank you," he told her gratefully. "How long have you been here?"

"Two weeks," she grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "They've tried beating me and starving me, but I won't do their stupid tests. They'll have to kill me first."

Aang reached inside the bar and squeezed her hand reassuringly, making her blush at the sudden contact. "Don't worry. Once I've… taken care of Zhao, I'm going to get you all out of here."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Of course," he chuckled. "There's no way I'm going to leave you all here. Just do me a favor and don't tell any guards about me until I get back, then I'll get you all out of this horrible place."

A small smile crept over her face. "You know, for a complete stranger you're really nice."

He smiled back and squeezed her hand again. "Well thanks, I try to be." A dark look shadowed his face. "But for people like Zhao… that's a different story."

Katara nodded in understanding, "Good luck."

He smiled again and got back to work, leaving her alone with her thoughts. The rest of the hallway was packed with prisoners, some looking like they were just barely alive. It angered him greatly to see people being treated like animals; locked in cages and being fed only just enough for them to survive. _You're going to pay for this Zhao,_ Aang thought darkly. He finally reached the end of the hallway at the door. _No guards? Either he's not here or he's become arrogant. It doesn't matter. One way or another, Death will claim him today._ The door creaked slightly as he walked in and surveyed the room. A small light was on at the other end of the room, barely illuminating a man sitting at a desk who appeared to be busy filling out paperwork. Aang closed the door softly and put a chair up against it, ensuring that there would be no reinforcements coming to help the now isolated mayor. "So, you've finally come to claim my life have you?" The Stormborn whipped around to look directly at his target. "Well, it's taken you quite some time. What took you so long?" Zhao taunted him with a smirk as he stood up from his chair.

"Oh, you know..." Aang started nonchalantly as he showed off his blade, "Just been busy taking out other people like you who want to cause harm to the city. Nothing new."

Zhao sneered, "Oh really? Other people like me? You wouldn't happen to mean my associates who have been dying left and right, would you?"

Aang pretended to think about it for a moment. "Hmmm, possibly. They were just as cowardly and corrupt as you, so I would say yeah, probably. So," he flexed his blade again. "How do you want to play this? Surrender and die quickly or fight and draw it out longer?"

"I think I'll stick with living, thank you," Zhao chuckled darkly. "Gentlemen?" A group of soldiers came out of the shadows, all armed with assault rifles and heavy combat armor. "You see Stormborn, my boss has grown tired of your meddling in our affairs. He's decided that you need to be put down like the dog you are. Any last words before you meet your end?"

"Of course," Aang smirked and looked each guard in the face. "I just want to say… I'm sorry," he said, catching everyone in the room by surprise until he continued, "I'm sorry that there will be no survivors when I'm done." The small light quickly went out, making the room completely dark.

"Open fire men!" Zhao commanded. The guards let it all loose, spraying everywhere in front of them until they ran out. They waited in silence to make sure that their work was done, but heard nothing as the minutes passed.

One soldier spoke up, "It looks like the target has been taken care of sir. We will-" but was silenced before he could finish his sentence. A muffled scream could be heard from another point of the room and another and another until there was nothing but complete silence.

"Soldiers!" Zhao yelled, "Are any of you still alive?" There was no response. "Shit, shit." He took out his desert eagle and held it out in front of him despite not being able to see anything in the room."Stay away from me Stormborn! What we do is none of your business!"

"But it is," a voice whispered behind him as he felt a hand press against his back. "When you mess with my city, when you put innocent people in danger, when you starve and beat them for 'tests'... that's _completely_ my business. Because I will _never _sit back and watch people suffer when I know that I can do something about it. Any last words?"

Zhao growled, "Damn you Stormborn! Damn you and your fallen people! May you rot in-" Aang finally had enough and put the knife in his back straight through to his heart, shutting him up instantly. He retracted the knife as Zhao slowly fell to the ground, trying desperately to hold on to what little life he had. "You may have taken me out, but you will not get to my boss. He is untouchable."

Aang crouched down and looked him in his slowly dimming eyes. "No one is truly untouchable, Zhao, as you now know. What I do is for the good of the people instead of the good of myself. Can your 'boss' say the same?" Zhao could not answer as he was now dead. "Even if you were my enemy, I hope that you find peace in death," he told the unmoving body. Shaking his head at the dead mayor, he lit one hand on fire and rifled through his clothes and found a letter with the seal of the Agnis', the richest family in the city. Opening it slowly he read aloud, "Mr. Zhao, I would like to thank you for your help in our plans. Your work is very important and will no doubt help us succeed in our goals. Thank you for your efforts and all you have done for our family. We will remember it always. Sincerely, Azula Agni." He put the letter in his pocket and hummed thoughtfully. "So the Agnis' are involved in this, huh? This could prove harder than I thought." Turning back to the light, he turned it back on and looked around the room. "There's got to be something else here that says what they're up to." A stack of papers laid on the desk that Zhao had been working on. Curious, Aang looked through them until he found one that took his interest. "Another warehouse in the North? I'll have to look into that." He folded up the paper and put it in his pocket. Making sure that there was nothing else of help to him, he turned around and removed the chair from the door before taking one last look at Zhao. "And to think, I thought that you would be a good mayor," he shook his head at him. "Was I wrong or what?" Finally having enough, he walked out the door and noticed two guards standing at the end of the hallway.

"Stormborn, come in Stormborn," a voice said on his earpiece.

"What's up, Teo?" he asked his friend quietly as he hid around the corner of a wall.

"Just checking in to see how the mission's going," Teo responded. "Is the bastard dead yet?"

Aang frowned. "Hey, I know that the guy made bad decisions, but he was still human and deserves some level of respect."

Teo didn't say anything for a moment. "Yeah, a human who tortured innocent people and abused his position as mayor for people who paid him enough money. Some human he was," he grumbled.

"I know Teo, but that doesn't mean we have to be lower than them," Aang reminded him. "Why should we stoop to their level when we work to help people and they work for themselves?" Teo was silent. "Good, I'm glad you agree. And in case you didn't figure it out, Zhao is dead."

"Good. It's about time!" Teo cheered. "So what's the plan now?"

"There are a bunch of captives in the warehouse who have been used for 'testing'. Now that Zhao's dead, I'm going to create a diversion and get them out of here," he explained.

"And then what?"

Aang smiled a little. "And then I'm going to destroy this place once and for all so no one will ever be tortured as these people have been."

"But Stormborn!" Teo protested. "If we destroy the building, you're only going to anger the people who are behind this even more than you already have!"

"That doesn't matter," Aang dismissed his worry. "What matters is making sure no one has to go through this ever again. Thank you for reminding me though, I found out who's behind all of this madness." Teo waited for him to tell him. "The Agni family were the ones paying off Zhao."

Teo gasped. "The richest family in the city?!"

Aang chuckled a little, "Yep, it looks like it. I found a letter from Azula Agni on his body after I finished him. It had the Agni family seal on it."

"Shit, shit, shit. This is _not_ good," Teo mumbled.

"Relax Teo!" Aang whispered loudly. "One thing at a time. I need to get these people out of here."

"Okay, okay. Hey, have you tried out my new device for you yet?" he asked.

Aang raised a brow. "What new device? You haven't told me about any new inventions, Teo."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that," Teo apologized. "I added a new feature to your blade. Take a look at it." Aang did as he was instructed and noticed a lightning symbol on it that wasn't there before. "There should be a button on it that looks like a lightning bolt. It'll allow you to channel your lightning powers through it so that you can zap people with small bolts like an even more deadly gun. If you concentrate enough, it can even be silent."

He couldn't help but be impressed. "How did you think of that, Teo?"

"Well, one day I was watching you mess around with lightning and I thought "What if he could wield the lightning like a gun?" since you don't use guns," he explained. "Then I figured out that the metal in your blade can be used to concentrate your lightning if it's designed properly. When you press that button the blade will stay out and you can aim it like you would a gun. Once you concentrate on keeping the lightning around the blade, all of the energy will pool on the tip of your blade and will be waiting on its release. All you have to do at that point is aim and let it go. To make it be silent, focus for five seconds or more and it will be silent enough as long as there's no one within five feet of your target."

"Perfect," Aang grinned. "What would I do without you, Teo?"

"Oh, I'm sure you would be fine, just without so many gadgets to help you out. After all, how many people in the world can say that they are a Stormborn?"

Aang sighed. "Only one, unfortunately." A guard moved from his position to look at a painting twenty feet away. "Looks like I've got the perfect chance to test it out. I'll talk to you later Teo, I've got a factory to blow up." Teo's line went dead as he moved slowly behind the guard who had stayed. He took him out quickly and moved the body into a nearby supply closet. Going back to his original position, he activated the lightning feature on his blade and concentrated some lightning into it, staring in amazement as it traveled down to the sharp edge of his blade. "Wow, I really need to thank Teo more," he whispered to himself. He aimed the blade at the other guard and took a deep breath, counting to five until he let the barely restrained energy go. Fortunately for him, Teo's advice worked and the bolt was silent as it took out the second guard. "Awesome," Aang grinned as he looked at his blade in amazement. "You are definitely going to come in handy." He turned around and opened up the cells as he walked by until he reached the caramel colored girl's. "Alright, time to go," he told her as he cut her lock open with his blade and opened the door. She attempted to get up, but stumbled a little right into his arms where he caught her. They both looked into each others' eyes and blushed a little. "Um, are you okay?" he asked a little nervously.

She smiled weakly and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little woozy. I haven't gotten anything to eat in a couple of days."

He dug his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a granola bar. "Here, eat this. It should hold you over until we can get you home." The girl took it and took a bite quickly, savoring how good it tasted on her tongue. "Will that be enough to hold you over?"

"Yeah, it should be fine," she told him as she finished off the last of the bar. "Thank you."

"No problem," he smiled. "Now, I've got to free the rest of these people and figure out a way to destroy this place."

She spoke up, "If you're wanting to destroy this place, there are some pipes in the other part of the warehouse. If you can cut through them and let the water flood the place, it'll ruin all of the technology and probably do some structural damage."

Aang thought it over and realized she was right. "Okay, that sounds like a plan."

"Let me help you," she offered. "I'm a waterbender, I can help drain the pipes and get this place flooded."

He shook his head, "No, you're already weak from being beaten and starved. If you tried to fight, you might get seriously hurt. Besides, I need someone to help these people get out of here."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but she understood. "Fine," she sighed.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to create a diversion so that you guys can get out of here. There's a hidden exit near the entrance. If you kick down the bookshelf there, it will reveal a tunnel that will lead you to main street. Do you think you could lead these people out there?" She nodded. "Good." He looked around and grabbed the radio from the fallen guard and switched it to a private channel as he handed it to her. "Once I've gotten the guards distracted, I'll radio you and tell you guys to go. Grab whatever weapons you can just in case some guards decide to stick around." She nodded again. He offered her a small smile. "Be careful out there, Miss. I'd hate to have to see such a pretty girl get hurt." They both blushed again but he quickly went back to freeing the rest of the prisoners and telling them the plan.

"Come on, people!" Katara called quietly as she ushered them to the door. "We'll wait here until he gives us the signal!" Aang slowly opened the door and started walking out until he heard Katara behind him, "Wait! What's your name?"

He looked over his shoulder and grinned. "You can call me 'Stormborn'." And with that, he took down the hallway, watching out for other guards as he looked for something to distract them from the soon-to-be fleeing prisoners. As he passed by a window, he saw a large tower being loaded with explosives. "That should do it," he smirked. Luckily for him, he noticed a large open window above him that he could use to access the roof. The air carried him up there as he got a better view of the tower. "Teo, come in Teo."

His earpiece buzzed. "Teo here. What's up Stormborn?"

"I need to take out this tower ahead of me to create a diversion for the prisoners who are being kept here," Aang explained. "Can you see if there are any entrances that won't alert any guards?"

"Sure thing. One sec," Teo responded. "Okay, put on those sunglasses I gave you a couple weeks ago."

Aang rolled his eyes, "Teo, it's night. I don't need sunglasses right now."

"They're not for blocking the sun, man. Just put them on," Teo complained.

"Fine," Aang sighed. He put them on and was surprised to see them zoomed in on a hatch on top of the tower. "Woah, nice going Teo! Smart glasses?"

He could hear Teo's grin in his voice. "Yep. Just another of my many amazing inventions," he boasted.

"I gotta hand it to you, this is impressive," Aang complimented him.

"More impressive than a feature in your blade that lets you use lightning like a gun?" Teo asked incredulously.

Aang laughed, "Okay, maybe not _that_ impressive, but still very impressive."

"That's what I thought. Now, as you can see through your glasses, your best bet for getting in that tower is that hatch up on the roof." It zoomed in even closer and showed a soldier standing guard by it. "You're going to have to take that guy out before you can go in. If you're going to blow up the tower for your diversion, you're gonna want to set off one in the center so that it activates all of the other explosives in the tower."

"Got it. Are there any other obstacles that might come in my path?" he asked.

Teo scanned the tower and its surroundings. "Nope. Just watch out for the guards and you should be fine."

"Cool. Thanks Teo, I'll let you know once I'm done here," Aang told him.

"Good luck, Stormborn."

Aang moved over to the edge of the roof and looked at the distance between the roof and the tower. It was about twenty feet apart, but that wouldn't be a problem for him. He crouched down lowly and started collecting air beneath his feet. Once he was sure that he had enough, he jumped up and let the built up air launch him towards the tower. The cool breeze hit his face as he neared the tower, watching to make sure that the guard didn't see him coming. As he landed, the air slowed his descent and he landed silently behind a pipe. Fortunately, the guard heard nothing and was still in place. _One guard for a roof entrance? Either they underestimate me, or they're cheap. Maybe even both,_ he thought. He slowly snuck up behind the guard and quickly took his life, watching the body fall before him with pity. With that taken care of, he walked over to the hatch and saw that it was fingerprint activated. "Really?" he groaned quietly. "How am I supposed to get a fingerprint for this without being discovered?" Then he remembered the ex-guard who laid dead a few feet away from him. Shaking his head at the situation he found himself in, he dragged the body over to the hatch and put one of the fingers on the scanner until it chirped and swung open. "Thanks, buddy," Aang said awkwardly as he let the body drop back to the ground. He jumped in and landed quietly as he looked around. "Hmmm. Maybe the glasses can tell me where the guards are. Glasses?"

"Yes, Stormborn?" a robotic female voice responded.

"Cool," Aang grinned. "Could you do a scan of the building and show me where all of the guards are?"

"Yes, Stormborn. Just one moment," it responded. "Thermal vision activated." Dozens of orange blobs came over his lenses.

"Awesome. Now I can see where they are before they can see me." Fortunately for him, there were no guards on his floor. He walked over to the railing of the floor and looked down right into the center of the tower. A large crate was laid in the center of the building, but was protected by many guards. "Maybe I can just send a flame down there and blow it up," he mused. Lighting his hand on fire, he aimed it down and shot a fireball at the explosives, taking a few guards by surprise as it set the box on fire and did nothing. "Well, that was disappointing," Aang frowned. His eyes widened in shock as the crate exploded below him, destroying half of the building and sending the rest listing forward. "Time to go!" He ran back over to the open hatch and jumped out just as the tower started leaning towards a smaller building. At the last second, he jumped and flew over to the warehouse, just barely grabbing a hold of the ledge as he watched the tower demolish the building next to it. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled himself back up on the roof. After taking a few calming breaths, he switched over to the private channel on his earpiece. "Miss?"

There was some static in his ear before a voice finally came over it. "Stormborn?"

"Yep, it's me," he told her. "I've taken out a tower on the other end of the warehouse. You guys are good to go for getting out of here. The guards are all scrambling to find out what happened." He watched as a majority of the guards were running to the remains of the tower. "Scratch that, they are en route to my little distraction. You should be fine, but be careful. They might have a couple of guards stay behind to make sure that no one escapes."

"Don't worry about us. We'll be fine," she assured him. "We found a gun locker in the hallway and are locked and loaded. We'll start heading out now."

"Good. Be careful out there, Miss," he said a little worriedly.

He could hear the smile in her voice. "We'll be fine, Stormborn. You just worry about yourself. You're the one who has to destroy a warehouse, after all."

Aang chuckled, "Oh, I'm not too worried. It's not the first warehouse I've destroyed and it won't be the last. I'll meet you on Main Street once this is all over. Good luck, Miss." He switched the channels and looked through the warehouse. "Glasses, show me where all the main water pipes are in the warehouse."

"The main pipes are located in a room near the back of the warehouse." The lenses showed live footage of guards running out of a small room, leaving the door wide open and revealing the pipes he was looking for.

"Perfect. Thank you… um," he paused. "I don't really want to keep calling you 'glasses'. What should I call you?"

"You can call me whatever you want, sir."

He thought about it for a moment. "How about I call you… Brooke?"

A beep sounded. "Brooke it is, sir. I will be available whenever you need me."

"Great, thank you Brooke," Aang smiled. "I have a feeling you're going to come in handy." With that settled, he took off his glasses and made his way to the other side of the warehouse with ease as most of the guards were occupied with trying to figure out what had happened to their explosives. After a few minutes of walking, he reached the room he was looking for and was surprised to find that it had already started flooding. Curious, he jumped down from the catwalk he was walking on and walked inside of the room to see…

"Miss?" he asked in surprise as he saw the beautiful girl he had rescued earlier pulling water out of the pipes. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be leading the other prisoners out of here."

She looked up from her bending and smiled at him. "Yeah, I was at first, but I got them out there quickly enough and now they're all going home. And I have nothing better to do, so I figured I would help you take care of this horrible place."

He quirked an eyebrow. "You call going back to your family or boyfriend who are probably incredibly worried about you 'nothing better to do'?"

"Um… I don't have a boyfriend," she said with a blush but didn't tear her eyes away from his. "And yeah, I can go see my family after I help you, but you helped me, so it's only fair."

"Miss-"

"Katara," she interrupted him.

"Katara," he corrected himself, "I'm sure that you're a strong warrior, but you've been hurt and starved for two weeks. I wanted you to go home so that you could get started on recovering from that. Besides, I don't do this for people to return favors for me, I do this to help people and nothing more."

Katara nodded. "I understand that and I appreciate your concern for me, but it's not like I'm fighting anyone right now," she pointed out. "I'll just help you get this place flooded and then we can get out of here."

Aang looked like he wanted to argue, but he found he couldn't resist those beautiful cerulean eyes. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "But if any guards come back, let me take care of them please. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Okay," she agreed with a smile. "Fair enough. Now, I've been trying to get this water out as quickly as possible, but I'm only one person. I should have brought another water bender with me," she cursed.

"Oh, you don't need another water bender," Aang assured her. "I can help you with that." Katara gave him a puzzled look, but he motioned for her to step back and she did. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and felt for all of the nearby water in the pipes. Water doesn't like to be restrained, it likes to be free. It needs to flow freely like it's supposed to. All it would take is a bit of encouragement to all of the water in the pipes to unleash on the warehouse. Once he was sure he could feel it all, he moved his arms backwards, causing the water to burst out of all of the pipes and at a far quicker rate than before. Katara gasped in amazement, but did not have a lot of time to think about it as the water in the room was rising rapidly. "Come on! The water will flood until it weakens the building and then I'll deliver the final blow." He took her hand and ran out of the room as the water had risen to half of the room. They waded quickly through the water that was quickly filling up the warehouse. It was going at such an alarming rate, if Aang wasn't fast enough, they would have gotten swept up in the currents. Before they knew it, they were at the entrance which was already flooded enough to where they wouldn't be able to get out that way. "Shit," he muttered to himself. He looked up and noticed an open window that they would both be able to fit in. With not much time left, he grabbed Katara and held her as she yelped and clung on to him. "Hold on tight!" Crouching down, he sprung forward and used the air to guide them up to the window safely until they reached the roof. Once he was sure they were on solid ground, he put her down and looked at her. "Are you okay?"

She didn't say anything for a moment, but broke out into a huge smile. "That was amazing!" she cheered excitedly.

"Good," he chuckled. "Because we're probably going to have to do it again soon." A large crash sound came from the other side of the warehouse as half of it toppled down. "Looks like it's sooner rather than later. Get on my back," he instructed quickly.

She did as she was told and jumped onto his back as he prepared for another jump. Another crash sounded behind her and she turned to see another part of the building collapse. "Um, not to rush you or anything, but we gotta go, Stormborn!" Aang nodded and took off running while Katara's arms were wrapped securely around his strong torso while her legs were wrapped around his waist. Just as it looked like he was going to run off of the roof, he jumped at the last second and catapulted them over several buildings until they landed on a building that wasn't anywhere near the wreckage that used to be a warehouse. As they landed softly, the last remains of the warehouse collapsed and were washed up in the tidal wave that was slowly coming towards them. "Um, Stormborn!" Katara yelled over the loudness of the restless waves. "It's still coming towards us!" He didn't respond as he got into a stance and took a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he motioned with his hands to stop the incoming wave from going any further and forced it back out into the lake that was behind where the warehouse used to be. When he was done, not one remnant of the warehouse or any of its guards remained, making it look like nothing had ever happened there in the first place. Katara looked at him in amazement. "How did you do that?"

"Long story," he told her weakly, having had most of his energy drained from that feat. "Now, how about we get you home?" Before she could say a word, he picked her up bridal-style and jumped from rooftop to rooftop. "Where do you live?" he yelled over the wind.

"I live on Kuruk Road!" she yelled back. "It'll be the only dark blue house on the block!" He smiled down at her in response and made his way quickly to her neighborhood, taking in the beautiful view of the night sky along the way. After a few minutes, they finally arrived at her house and he landed softly on her porch. Even though he knew that he should, he was reluctant to let the girl go. She was very pretty and one of the most fierce and brave women he had ever met. But he knew better. There was no point in getting attached to someone in his line of work unless you wanted heartbreak, and he had enough for a hundred lifetimes. As he finally set her down, she turned around and smiled at him. "Thank you so much for helping me. I honestly thought I was going to die in there," she admitted with a slight frown.

"It's no problem at all," he smiled back. "I'm more than happy to help those in need. Though I've got to say, if you had been given food and water, you probably could have gotten out on your own."

Her frown quickly returned to a smile again at his words. "Yeah, you're probably right," she agreed. "But still, thank you anyways." She kissed him on the cheek quickly before he could object.

"Um, no problem," he laughed nervously. "Well, if you're sure if you're okay, then I've got to get going."

"Oh? Do you have to?" she asked sadly. "You could come in and meet my family. They would love to meet you." She paused. "Well, except for my protective older brother. He might try to kill you."

Aang chuckled and shook his head. "As fun as that sounds, I've got some work to get done and I need to lay low for a while. A lot of people have it out for me in this city."

"Okay," she sighed sadly. "Maybe some other time?" she asked hopefully.

"We'll see, Miss Katara," he told her. "Have a good night." He started walking down the stairs before she called out to him. "Wait!"

He turned around and looked at her from underneath his hood. "Yes?"

"How will I be able to see you again?"

His heart fluttered a little, but he quickly shut it down. _No attachments,_ he chided himself. Returning his attention to the beautiful girl, he looked her in the eyes and gave her a soft smile. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find me somehow. Until we meet again, Miss Katara." He gave her a quick bow and sped off down into the night without looking back, wondering if he really would ever see her again.


	2. Chapter 2: Many Questions and Few Answer

Chapter 2: Many Questions and Few Answers

**Hey guys! I just want to say real quick, I used to not care much for getting reviews, but my writing lately has felt lacking and I would like to see what you guys think. You guys don't have to, but whatever feedback you guys can give me to let me know how I'm doing writing-wise is always appreciated, good or bad. Thanks!**

**A/N: I forgot to add in Teo's age, so here it is. Teo: 22**

**AnonymousKataang: They are twins in the sense that they are somewhat identical despite being opposite genders.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

Aang was tired. He had been up all night thinking about the girl he had rescued the night before, much to his annoyance. For some reason, no matter what he tried, he just couldn't stop thinking about her… and it was starting to drive him insane. _Get over yourself, _Aang grumbled in his mind. _It was just some girl who you'll probably never see again. Now shut up and go back to sleep._ He took his own advice and closed his eyes, almost falling into a deep sleep when his alarm clock started ringing. Groaning slightly, he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. "Great, now I have to go a day without any sleep." Once he was awake enough to move around, he stood up and walked over to his minifridge where he kept his own wakeup solution. It wasn't his favorite method of waking himself up, but it was highly effective. He took out the drink and took a closer look at the can in disgust. "Who decided that a good taste for an energy drink would be a mix of ketchup and chocolate?" Finally getting over his disgust, he cracked the can open and chugged it down instantly, trying his best not to puke. When he finished, he covered a hand over his mouth and threw the can in the trash to his left. After a few minutes of holding his vomit back, he felt it go back down and realized his tiredness was long gone. "Wow. That stuff might taste horrible, but at least it actually does its job," he laughed a little. He popped in a mint to wash the horrible taste from his mouth and got dressed into some combat clothes. Walking out of his room, he walked down the hall to Teo's room and knocked on his door. There was no response. "Teo!" he called. "Get your lazy butt up! We've got training to do today!"

"No!" Teo yelled back tiredly. "Just five more minutes! Please!" he almost begged.

"Nope!" Aang called back. "You've got five minutes to meet me in the training room or I'll come in there and dump freezing cold water all over you!" He looked at his watch and started walking away. "Four minutes now!" A loud rustling could be heard from the room and he chuckled a little. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Aang walked the rest of the way to the training room and switched on the lights. The room was huge and had lots of different stations for training along with the best workout equipment money could buy which was needed when you make hunting down bad guys your job. He did some simple stretches until Teo came running in with ten seconds left on Aang's watch.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Teo panted heavily.

Aang couldn't hold back a grin. "I can see that. Good job Teo, that was really quick."

Teo shrugged and grinned back. "What can I say? I've got a great teacher." They went through their stretches together as he asked, "So, what's the plan for training today?"

"Well, after we finish our stretches, we'll do our cardio and some weights. After that, I want to see how you're doing in the combat portion of your training." Teo groaned in response. "Hey, I know you don't find it fun, but it could come in handy someday."

"How could it come in handy?" Teo challenged. "I'm the logistics and gadget guy. I don't fight and I don't ever get involved in situations where I might need to fight."

"What if someone finds our hideout?" Aang countered. "What if one of our _many_ enemies finds this place and I'm not here to help protect you?"

"Suki's here most of the time!" Teo objected. "She could help protect me!"

Aang rolled his eyes, "Okay, let's just say that Suki's _not _there at the time, who by the way only knows the basics of fighting since she's only been with us for a couple of months, then what would you do?" Teo tried to say something, but Aang cut him off. "And don't say that your gadgets would save you, because they wouldn't. Your inventions are impressive and helpful, Teo, but they won't do you much good if there's a professional hitman after us," he pointed out.

"Fine," Teo sighed. "But please, don't make me fight Suki again. Even if I've had more training than her, she still kicks my butt every time," he pleaded.

"That's because she has a background in Jiu-Jitsu," Aang laughed. "She knows a little bit of every fighting style on Earth, but has never mastered any of them. You know more than her about my style, but you also are afraid to hit a girl."

Teo became frustrated and threw his hands in the air. "Well, yeah! We're guys! We're _not supposed _to hit girls!" he yelled in exasperation.

"Oh, so just because I'm a girl, that means you're not supposed to hit me?" a voice from behind him asked in annoyance. Teo whipped around to see a very unhappy Suki in a green sports bra and matching green workout pants.

"Um, hi Suki," he greeted her nervously. "You know I didn't mean it like that. It's just that there's an unwritten guy rule that we can't hit girls. That's all."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah?" She walked up to him and grabbed him by his throat. "So if I start choking you, you can't hit me back to try to get me to stop?" He didn't say anything as he was frozen in fear. "I could kill you right now, and your 'guy rule' would be the only thing holding you back from defending yourself." She let her grip on him go and took a step back, making him sigh in relief. "People are people, no matter what the color of their skin is or what body parts they have, so we should all treat each other like there's no differences between each other. Right Aang?" she asked as she turned to him.

"Of course," Aang agreed with a smile. "I've seen _many_ girls who are just as good, if not better at fighting than guys are. It doesn't matter what kind of person you are. No one should be treated any different just because of what they are born with." Suki smiled widely and hugged him, making him chuckle and patted her on the back. "I'll take that as a sign that I said the right thing, then."

"Yep," she smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "You got it exactly right." She tried leaning in for a kiss on the lips, but he backed away quickly, much to her disappointment. "Oh come on," she complained. "I know you at least find me attractive. Just give me a chance."

Aang shook his head. "Look Suki, we've already been over this. There's no room for attachments in this line of work. The risk of having something that could later be used as collateral when I'm supposed to be doing whatever it takes to help this city is not something I can afford to take. It's nothing against you, because you _are_ very attractive," he admitted with a blush, "but until I 'retire' from my 'job', this is how it's going to be. I'm sorry."

"But having Teo and I as friends are like having attachments," she argued.

"In a way," he partially agreed. "But it's not the same as having a romantic partner. If I were to fall in love with either of you, which would never happen with Teo, then my judgement might become clouded and I might make a wrong decision that could hurt the city in the process. Of course if you guys were taken hostage, I would be very upset and would try to rescue you, but if it came down to saving the city or you guys, I would have to pick the city. In an ideal situation, I would prefer to sacrifice myself rather than you guys, but I likely would not get that option in a real-life scenario."

Suki sighed and walked closer to him, resting her hand on his chest. "Fine, I'll stop. For now," she winked and blew him a kiss before walking out towards the sparring circle. "Now hurry up and get through your warm-ups so we can get some real training done!" she yelled over shoulder as she walked away with an overly exaggerated sway of her hips.

Teo drooled a little and looked at Aang as if he was crazy. "Dude, no offense or anything, but are you _nuts_? You've got a girl like that ready to jump you at any moment, and you're not going to do anything about it?"

"What can I say, Teo?" Aang shrugged as he walked over to the treadmills and started them up. "I take my job very seriously. If I want to play my part in keeping this city as safe and corruption-free as possible, I can't and won't risk causing harm to it by having an attachment."

Teo walked over to the treadmill next to him and started jogging at his pace. "Who said anything about getting an attachment? You could just… you know," he said awkwardly.

Aang shook his head at him. "No Teo, I won't just hook up with her with no strings attached. Not only is that not fair to her, I likely would develop feelings for her while doing that anyways, so that's another risk I can't take."

"Okay man, whatever you say," Teo sighed. After getting in some cardio and some weights, they walked out to the sparring ring where Suki was doing her stretches.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up!" Suki taunted Teo. "Are you ready for this or what?" Teo looked pleadingly at Aang who just gave him a stern look in return and nodded with another sigh. "Alrighty then, let's get this started!"

* * *

Katara had been awake all night. After this 'Stormborn'-which she assumed was a pseudonym- brought her back home, all she could think about was him. He had been so daring and brave, yet so kind and caring as well. She had never met a man like him before, even if she didn't know his real name. All she could think about was his gentle smile, how the warm touch from his hands had sent chills down her spine, how genuine and inviting the manner in which he spoke to her was. Though his power was almost inhuman, he made it clear through his actions and how he addressed others that he definitely was. _Stormborn,_ she mused. _Where have I heard that before?_ "Katara!" a voice shouted at her.

"Huh?" she snapped back to reality with a spoon still stuck in her mouth.

"I've been trying to talk to you for three minutes, and you haven't said anything!" her annoying brother Sokka complained.

Katara rolled her eyes at his childishness and set the spoon back in her bowl of cereal. "Sokka, I was just imprisoned and starved for two weeks! Cut me some slack! I'm going to be a little out of it for a while."

Sokka looked like he wanted to argue, but he knew that she had a point and gave up with a defeated sigh. "Fine," he grumbled. "What were you thinking about, anyways?"

"Um… I was just thinking about how I got out of that awful place," Katara partially lied.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask about that," Sokka said. "How _did_ you get out? I mean, from the way you described it last night, it sounded like it was a fortress."

She nodded and stirred her cereal with her spoon absent-mindedly. "Yeah, it pretty much was. If I'm being honest, I probably wouldn't have gotten out if it hadn't been for this guy who came in and busted us all out."

Sokka's curiosity peaked. "Some random guy just came in and got you guys out?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Well, it's a little bit more complicated than that," she told him. "He apparently had some "business" to take care of with Mayor Zhao and ran into me along the way. I explained to him what was going on there and he promised to come back to free us all. After he did whatever he came to do, he came back for us and created a distraction to help us all escape unnoticed. Then I helped him flood the place and destroyed it and he brought me back here."

Sokka's jaw dropped. "You helped destroy a warehouse?!" he whisper-shouted.

"Calm down, Sokka!" Katara chided him. "It's not a big deal! He did most of the work anyway. I might be a strong bender, but there's no way I could have done what he did last night."

"Well what did he do?" Sokka asked curiously.

She took a moment to think about it. "The first thing I saw him do was take out a guard with a small lightning bolt that he shot from his blade like a gun. Then later, he took a huge amount of water from the pipes of the warehouse and flooded the place."

Sokka gasped and turned on the TV and flipped over to the local news channel where it was showing a before and after picture of where the warehouse once stood. A video playing showed a large tidal wave coming towards the city, but seemed to go back on it's own to the lake behind it. "So… this guy… he bent water _and_ lightning?"

Katara became confused. "Um, yeah. He even air bent us up to the roof as the water started getting a little too high. Why?"

Without saying another word, Sokka ran up to his room and came down a couple minutes later with his laptop. He quickly logged on and searched something up on the internet. "Here. Take a look." Katara took the laptop from him and read the article. It was entitled, _The Stormborns: The Most powerful Benders in History._ She gasped in surprise. "Stormborns? The guy who broke us out last night called himself Stormborn!"

"Wow!" Sokka exclaimed in excitement. "You were rescued by the last Stormborn in existence!"

Katara couldn't help but smile a little. The last Stormborn and most powerful bender on Earth thought that she was pretty. "Yeah, I guess I was." She looked at him over the laptop. "What do you know about the guy?"

"Oh, only that he's the coolest guy ever!" Sokka cheered as he took another bite of his cereal. "I should probably start with what a Stormborn is. Or I guess, what they used to be anyway. The Stormborns were the most powerful benders on Earth. They could bend all of the elements and had immense amounts of power. The reason why they were called that is because they had the power to create huge and deadly storms for whatever purpose they needed. They tended to just stay out of conflicts in general unless it concerned them, but as time passed by, some neighboring countries wanted to harness their power for their own ends. The Stormborns refused to agree to their demands and a huge war broke out thousands of years ago. The war ended after two hundred years of fighting when one Stormborn lost a family member and completely lost control. A huge Earthquake ripped through the whole land and ended up having heavy casualties on both sides. After it finally ended, both sides agreed to a cease fire and never fought again. Unfortunately, because of that Earthquake, there were only a handful of Stormborns left. As time passed, instead of growing in number, the Stormborns dwindled until they were thought to be extinct. Then one day several years ago, a news report showed a guy destroying a factory with an Earthquake that only a Stormborn could do. That would be the guy who saved you, Katara. He's sort of known as the unofficial protector of the city. That's probably why he was at that warehouse. He probably wanted to take out the Mayor who was caught taking bribes from an unknown patron."

Katara tried to let all of that information soak in. "Okay. I guess that makes sense. But why did he pick this city to protect? And why wouldn't he tell me his real name?" she almost asked herself.

Sokka shrugged, "Who knows? There could be a thousand reasons or none at all for why he chose this city, but it's a good thing he did. We've had so much corruption in our political offices, the only thing keeping the higher ups from running the city is him. Otherwise we would all have been screwed long ago."

"Yeah, you're right about that," Katara agreed. "How come I've never heard about him in the city before? I've seen other warehouses being destroyed on the news, but I've never heard anything about a 'Stormborn' before."

"Probably because the people paying off the officials don't want us to know about him," Sokka thought aloud. "I mean, I know if _I _was a bad guy I wouldn't want people to know about a guy that was single-handedly taking out my lackeys and destroying my warehouses. It would give them hope that they might not have to put up with the bad guys forever."

Katara thought about it for a moment. "I guess you're right. But why wouldn't he tell me his name?" she asked again.

Sokka gave her a "duh" look. "Katara, think about it for a moment. The most wanted man in the city, who probably has a thousand bounties being put on his head every day probably didn't want to risk telling a girl he didn't even know his name. He probably didn't want to take that risk of a stranger letting it slip and getting discovered by the ones who are hunting him down."

"But I wouldn't have told anyone his name," Katara argued.

"Maybe so, but he obviously doesn't know that," Sokka pointed out. "He has to be constantly watching his back and likely trusts very few people. The likelihood of him telling someone his name, even if that person was you, is very small. It's likely nothing personal, he just can't throw out his name like that."

Katara didn't want to admit it, but he was right. If she was in his position, she likely would do the same. Especially if she was on the kill list of people who obviously had a lot of wealth and influence in the city. "Alright, I guess you're right," she sighed and rested her cheek on her hand. "But still. I mean, I helped him take out a warehouse for God's sake. Is it too much to ask to know his real name?"

Sokka gave her a weird look. "Why do you want to know his real name so badly?" he asked suspiciously.

She blushed a little. "Um… no reason," she said unconvincingly. Sokka looked like he was going to question her further, but she interrupted him before he could. "Hey, we should go to the market to get some food!" she told him quickly and got up after finishing her cereal.

"Um… okay…" Sokka said in complete confusion at the change of subject. "But why do we need to get food? Dad and I just got some a few days ago."

Katara rolled her eyes and brought their dishes to the kitchen and placed them in the sink. "Yeah, but you guys eat so much, it's almost all gone anyway. Besides, I was cooped up in a cell for two weeks. I want to get out and stretch my legs for a little bit." She walked out of the kitchen and grabbed her wallet and keys with Sokka right behind her. As she walked out, she noticed something was different about her car. It looked nothing like the run-down sedan she owned for some reason. It looked very expensive. _Am I losing it?_ She wondered. Curious, she walked up to it and noticed a note on the windshield. She grabbed it and took a look at it. It read: _Miss Katara, I wanted to thank you for your help the previous night. Though I can't be here to talk to you in person, I thought I could thank you in a different way. I have synced your old car keys to this new car so that it will work for either vehicle. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you again for your help. Your friend, Stormborn_. She gasped in surprise and looked around for her old car which was now parked on the side of the street.

Sokka came walking up behind her and his jaw hit the ground as he looked at the beautiful car before him. "Where did you get _this_?" he asked in amazement. She handed him the note without taking her eyes off of her brand new car. It looked to be a mix of a ferrari and a lamborghini and was cerulean blue. She unlocked the car and sat down in it to find another note there. _Oh, and I hope you don't mind that I picked this color for you. I thought since your eyes are the same color and are so beautiful that I should get you a car that would come close to them. But if I'm being honest, your eyes are far better than any imitation color I could find, so I'm sorry it's not doing you any justice. Thank you again for everything. _Katara couldn't help but blush heavily. Not only did he think she was pretty, he thought she had beautiful eyes as well.

"Of course this would happen," Katara grumbled to herself. "An amazing guy comes into my life and he's the most wanted man in the city. Not to mention the last of his kind."

Sokka climbed into the passenger seat and looked at the car in amazement. "Wow," he breathed. "This thing is amazing."

"Yeah, it really is," Katara agreed with a smile and put the note in her pocket. She put her keys in the ignition and sure enough the car hummed to life. "Sokka, take a look at the manual and see if there are any cool features for this thing."

He did as he was told and flipped through a couple pages as he skimmed through it. "Okay, let's see… it says here that there are four cup holders, the highest quality speakers available… oh! It says here that the car can drive itself!" he said excitedly.

"Really?" she asked in surprise. He nodded. "We've got to try it. How do we get that going?"

Sokka read for another minute before he read aloud, "To activate the self-driving feature, tell the car where you want to go." He got a puzzled look on his face. "'Tell the car where you want to go'? What, like the car can actually hear us?"

"Affirmative," a robotic female voice confirmed in the speakers around them. "I can hear you. Mr. Stormborn has made sure of this."

Katara gasped a little. "You mean Stormborn _made _this car?" she asked it in disbelief.

"No ma'am," it responded. "Stormborn merely added some features to it. The car itself he purchased, but the features such as me and the ability for it to drive on its own he added to it before he had it delivered to you."

"Oh," Katara said in understanding. "That makes sense. Well, we would like to go the Market please," she requested politely.

A beep sounded. "Setting a route for the local Market. Estimated arrival time: Ten minutes." The car backed itself out of the driveway as the twins put on their seatbelts and started along the road.

"This is so cool!" Sokka cheered as he watched the wheel steer itself. "First you meet the city's protector, and the next day he gives you a super expensive smart car? What's next? Is he going to propose with a huge diamond ring?" he joked.

Katara chuckled nervously, "Yeah, that would totally be weird." _It would only be weird if it happened on the first date,_ she thought with a sigh.

"While you wait, would you like some snacks?" the car asked them.

Sokka smiled widely. "Yes please!" A compartment opened in front of Sokka with different kinds of candy and chips. "Awesome!" Sokka grinned as he grabbed two candy bars and a bag of chips.

Katara took a closer look at the choices and noticed something she didn't expect. "Sea prunes?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes ma'am," the car chirped back as it took a right turn. "One of the features of this car is that it can make anything you want. Mr. Stormborn looked up your profiles and saw your favorite foods and made sure that the first options you would have are what you enjoy the most."

"Wow. I can't believe he put so much thought into it," she said in amazement as she took the bag of sea prunes and started eating some.

The car chirped. "Yes, Mr. Stormborn likes to take care of those he cares about."

Katara blushed a little. "He cares about me?"

"Yes, he does," it told her. "He thinks of you as a great friend despite having only met you last night."

"Oh," Katara said in disappointment. She wanted to question the car further, but she didn't want Sokka to figure out that she had feelings for Stormborn. _I have feelings for a guy who I don't even know his real name,_ she thought with a roll of her eyes. _How ridiculous is that?_ A few minutes later they arrived at the market and the car parked itself.

"You have arrived," it beeped.

"Thank you, um… what do I call you?" Katara asked.

"Whatever you like ma'am," it responded.

She took a moment to think about it when an idea popped into her mind. "Alright, I'm going to call you 'Kya'."

"After your deceased mother," the car stated.

Katara's eyes widened, "How did you know that?"

"I have your profile on file, Miss Katara," the car reminded her. "I have every detail about your life from birth to now. I know about your family and I know about your feelings for-"

"Okay!" Katara cut the car off while Sokka gave her a suspicious look. "Thanks for taking us to the market. We'll get going and be back soon."

"Yes ma'am," the car responded. Katara took the keys out of the ignition and walked quickly towards the market, trying her best to avoid Sokka's questioning stare. They made their way towards the center where all of the fresh fruits and vegetables were.

"Why are we by the veggies?" Sokka asked in disgust as he examined a broccoli head. "Shouldn't we be by the meat? You know, the food that actually tastes good?"

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. Two weeks of her absence had done nothing to change him. "Sokka, we can get meat after, but right now I need to pick out the healthy part of our meals. You know, the stuff that _won't _eventually cause a heart attack?"

Sokka rolled his eyes in return. "Whatever. Just hurry up, please. I want my meat," he whined like a child. Katara didn't bother to respond and picked out what she wanted from the produce of the market. Flies were everywhere around the fruit since it was outside but they never got close enough to make it a problem. Just as Katara was about to start walking to the butcher, a kid came running up to her.

"Miss! Miss!" a young boy tugged on her sleeve. "You've got to help me!"

She crouched down and looked him in the eye with concern. "What's wrong? Is everything alright?" she asked worriedly.

"No!" the kid teared up a little. "My mommy's being mugged by a group of mean-looking people. They're hurting her and taking her money. Can you please help me stop them? I can't do it on my own," he begged with big eyes.

"Of course, Sweetie," Katara assured him with a quick hug. "Take me to her and we'll get this all sorted out." The kid nodded and took off with Katara close behind him who had dropped the groceries she had been carrying.

"Katara, wait!" Sokka called as he was left in the dust. He shook his head at her. Sometimes she didn't think, and one of these days she was going to pay the price for it. Knowing she would need backup, he ran after her and chased them down until he found her and the kid standing in an alleyway.

Katara looked around but didn't see anyone other than her brother. "Um, are you sure this is where your mother was?" she asked the kid.

"Yes. This is exactly where he was instructed to bring you," a voice spoke from behind them. Katara and Sokka whipped around while the kid ran off. "So, you thought you could run away from us did you?" a guard stepped out of the shadows with a gun.

Katara looked around for a water source, but there was none. "Leave me alone! You people may have gotten me once, but you won't get me twice!" she yelled defiantly. She froze when she felt a gun press against her head. Sokka seemed to be in the same boat, as another guard held a gun to his head as well.

The guard in front of them chuckled, "They did say you were rather feisty." He took a long look at her from head to toe. "But they didn't say anything about how attractive you are." Slowly walking around her, he admired her body with an approving hum. "My boss may want you alive, but he never said I couldn't do anything to you before delivery," he said maliciously.

"Keep your hands off of her!" Sokka yelled furiously, despite having a gun pointing right at his head.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" the guard taunted him. "You're in no position to help her. You're lucky that you're not a girl, or you would share the same fate." He moved behind Katara and ran his hands down her arms, making her shiver in horror. "Oh yes, I will enjoy my time with you."

Katara snarled, "Get your hands off of me!"

"Or what?" the guard asked with a smirk as he returned to her front. Katara closed her eyes, trying to think of a plan to get them out of this terrible situation before she heard a loud _crack!_ in front of her. She opened her eyes to see a hole between the lead guard's eyes as he slowly fell to the ground dead with smoke coming out of the hole. The guards behind her scrambled to see what happened without taking the guns from their heads.

"What the hell just happened?!" the guard behind Katara yelled in confusion.

Using this distraction to their advantage, Katara and Sokka kicked the guards in their groins and sent them reeling backwards. Before the guards could retaliate, two figures fell from above and landed on the disoriented guards, killing them with a swift blow to their throats. After a few moments, the hooded figures stood up and turned around to them as Katara gasped.

"Stormborn?"

Aang grinned. "Good to see you again, Miss Katara. Sorry that we had to meet again in such awful circumstances, but at least we were here to stop it before it got out of hand."

Sokka looked at him in awe. "You… you're…"

The other hooded figure who appeared to be a woman rolled her teal eyes. "Yes, he's the great and terrible Stormborn. Whoop-de-doo," she said sarcastically. She turned to Aang. "How do you even know this girl?"

"I met her last night as we destroyed that warehouse together," he explained with a shrug. "She was one of the captives who I helped set free." Before anything else could be said, a large group of guards carrying electric swords surprised them with an attack. Aang ducked a swing from one and stabbed him in his heart before moving on to the next. "Looks like we've got company!" he yelled as two guards charged him and stepped out of the way to make them crash into each other. He slammed their heads together and slit their throats before getting back into the fight.

"Here, catch!" Suki yelled to Katara as she threw a water canteen to her.

Katara grabbed it and opened it up, taking out the water and using it as a water whip. "Thanks!" she yelled back as she started pushing them back.

Sokka didn't know what to do until Aang came up to him after ripping out a sword from a guard's hands and stabbing him with it. He handed it to him and said, "Here, this should help."

"Thanks!" Sokka yelled as he electrocuted a nearby guard and sliced another with the blade. A guard came running up behind him ready to kill before Suki stabbed him from behind and dropped his body to the ground.

"Watch it, Meathead!" she yelled as she returned her attention to the rest of the guards. "One wrong move and you're a goner!"

Sokka rolled his eyes, but kept fighting. "Thanks for the advice-" he paused in thought as he didn't know her name. "What's your name?" he shouted as he stabbed a guard in the gut.

Suki took out another guard and called over her shoulder, "You can call me Silver Tongue!"

"Nice to meet you, Silver Tongue! I'm 'a real person'!" Sokka responded sarcastically and sliced a guard in half.

"Enough you two!" Aang yelled as he killed two more guards and sent them underground. "We've got more important things to worry about right now than names!" More guards poured in and Aang looked around for something to help them. He noticed Sokka's sword and the electricity sizzling on it. "Sokka! Shoot some lightning at me!"

"What?!" Sokka shrieked in surprise.

"Just do it!" Aang shouted back as he shot a lightning bolt at a guard sneaking up behind Katara. Sokka shook his head and pointed his sword at Aang and let some energy go from it. Aang caught it with the tip of his blade and spread it out in all directions, frying half of the guards. Seeing that there was still a lot of them left, Aang took his charged blade and slammed it into the ground, sending electric currents to the rest of the guards and frying them to death as well. There was almost complete silence except for the heavy breathing of the four. "Well, I guess that's the last of them," Aang sighed in relief. A large thud came from behind him. "Of course I spoke too soon," he grumbled and turned around. Standing before them was a giant humanoid robot. It was covered in heavy armor and was loaded with machine guns on its shoulders and held a giant electric sword in its hands.

"What do we do now?" Katara asked as she got her water ready. No one was able to answer her as the robot started its attack. It dove for Aang who dodged and sliced at its wrist without even making a dent in its armor.

"It's not going to go down by blade!" Aang informed them as he dodged another swipe. The robot turned its attention to Suki who had stabbed it in the back.

Suki sneered at it. "What? Did I pinch your stupid robot ass?" The robot swung at her with his sword and missed her by inches as she dove over and tried to find a weak spot underneath it. "Shit! It doesn't have an Achilles heel!" she yelled as she tried stabbing it in the heel.

Sokka ran up to it and stabbed it in the leg to no avail. He shot some electricity into it, making the robot stall and watched as some wires blew where he had stabbed it. "Stormborn! We need some lightning here!"

"Got it!" Aang shot a bolt of lightning at it which spread throughout its system. The robot got slower and slower with every surge of electricity going through it, but kept fighting anyways. "I gotta give these guys credit! They know how to make their war bots pretty well!" Aang chuckled as he ran up its hand and stabbed it in the eye. The robot groaned and threw him to the ground. Fortunately for him, he had been expecting that and landed on his feet. He looked back and saw the rest of them growing tired from their long fight. "You guys get out of here! I'm going to finish the big guy off!" Aang told them as he drew the robot's attention away from them.

"No way!" Katara refused breathlessly. "We'll all stay until it's over!"

"Yeah!" Sokka agreed as he needlessly cut off one of the robots toes.

Suki who knew better nodded and grabbed the twins. "Come on, you two! He's got this."

Aang nodded to her after barely dodging a bullet from the now active machine guns. "Get these two to the safehouse! I'll be there soon!" Suki nodded again and dragged them out of the alleyway.

"Wait a minute!" Katara protested as she was dragged away. "Let me go!"

"Sorry hun," Suki apologized without much regret. As they got back to the marketplace she asked, "Do you have a car?"

Katara wouldn't answer as she was still trying to get out of Suki's iron grip, so Sokka answered for her. "Yeah. It's in the parking lot. It's the really expensive looking blue one." Suki nodded to him and ran them out there as they finally reached the car. "Give me the keys!" Katara was still struggling, so Sokka reached in her pocket and handed it to her. "Here, take your sister. She's probably going to keep fighting until we're long gone." Sokka nodded in response and dragged his sister into the car who was kicking and screaming.

"Let me go, Sokka!" she shouted as he shut the door behind him.

"Lock the doors, Silver!" Sokka ordered. Suki nodded and did as she was told before she started up the car. They got moving once Katara finally gave up and went North. "Um, where are we going?"

"To the safehouse," Suki said as if it was obvious.

Sokka facepalmed hard. "I mean, where is the safehouse?"

"You'll find out soon enough," she growled in annoyance. "Now's not exactly the time for questions." Sokka just rolled his eyes and looked behind them to see a large cloud gathering where they had left Aang. "What the…"

Katara who had finally calmed down enough to talk looked at him questioningly. "What?" He pointed to what he was looking at and she followed his finger. "Woah," she breathed as the cloud grew darker. A minute later, a large blast of lightning shot down from the clouds, sending a shockwave throughout the city.

Suki chuckled as she looked in the rearview mirror. "Of course he would use that move. He's always been a bit of a show-off."

"He's used that move before?" Katara asked curiously.

She shook her head. "No, but he's talked about using it before. He's never had the chance to until now."

"How long have you known him?"

"Look," Suki started as she made a turn, "We can answer all of your questions once we're back at the safehouse. Can we please put that off until then?" Katara nodded and she gave her a small smile. "Thank you. I appreciate it. It seems like you're more cooperative than your brother over there for the most part."

"Hey!" Sokka cried indignantly.

Katara stifled a laugh, "Sorry Sokka, but she's right." Suki smiled again and drove the rest of the way in silence. After a few more minutes, she pulled up to an abandoned gas station and got out. "Um, not to sound snooty or anything, but your safehouse is an old gas station? You guys must have a low budget."

Suki laughed a little and shook her head. "No, this isn't our safehouse. Just follow me." She started walking towards the back of the building and stopped in front of an old vending machine.

"Oh! Can we get a snack real quick?" Sokka asked hopefully.

Katara slapped him upside the head. "Sokka! Not only did you just have a snack half an hour ago, this machine is old and clearly hasn't had fresh food in it for years!" Sokka pouted as Suki pressed a few buttons on the machine. A buzzing sound came from it and slid open to reveal a passageway that led to an elevator.

She walked in and looked over her shoulder. "Well? Are you guys coming or what?" Katara and Sokka looked at each other nervously and followed her to the elevator. They all stepped in as Suki punched in a code and sent them to the first floor. A few moments later, the elevator dinged and opened to reveal a large room that made the twins' jaws drop. The left side of the room looked like it was a fancy living room complete with twin leather couches and a few recliners. A large flatscreen tv hung up on the center of the wall with big speakers on each side. On the right side of the room was a bar setup with a small kitchen to its right. All of the technology was up to date and appeared to be the best of its kind.

"Wow," Sokka breathed as he walked up to the living room. "This is amazing."

Suki shrugged and went into the kitchen. "Yeah, I thought so too when I first got here." She dug around in the fridge and produced two Fiji water bottles and threw it to each of them. "Here, drink up. You guys probably need it after that battle." Her point was proven as both twins chugged the water quickly, not stopping to breathe until it was all gone. "Wow," she smirked. "Was I right or what?"

Katara laughed weakly as she regained her breath. "Yeah, you definitely were."

"Come on," Suki motioned for them to follow her as she walked out towards the hallway. "I want you guys to meet someone." They followed her slowly as she walked towards a room at the end of the hall that had loud mechanical noises coming from it. She opened the door to reveal a huge garage with tons of different devices scattered throughout the room. Some looked finished while others clearly were not. A young man was underneath what looked like the start of a vehicle. "Teo! Come out here for a second."

He groaned a little and rolled himself out, becoming surprised at the sight of the new people. "Um, Suki… who are these people?" he questioned.

"These are the Aqua twins," Suki gestured to them. "Katara and Sokka, meet Teo, inventor extraordinaire and the most easily scared man alive."

Teo rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks for that warm introduction." He stuck out his hand to them. "Nice to meet you guys."

"You too man," Sokka said as he shook his hand. Katara shook his hand as well.

Teo looked at Suki. "Why do you still have your hood on? And why are they here?" he asked in confusion.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Suki admitted sheepishly. She let the hood down and turned around to face the twins, letting them both see her face for the first time. Sokka's jaw dropped as he looked at her. "I guess I haven't properly introduced myself." She stuck her hand out to Sokka who still had his jaw on the ground. "The name's Suki."

Sokka didn't move for several moments until Katara cleared her throat pointedly and snapped out of his daze. "Nice to meet you too, Suki," he squeaked. Suki just laughed and shook Katara's hand who repeated her brother without the squeak.

"Now, as for what they're doing here," Suki turned back to Teo, "Stormborn and I were out patrolling on the rooftops and heard a commotion happening in the Market. We followed the noises and found these two here about to be kidnapped by some guards. Luckily we stopped them before it went further and made our way back here."

"Okay, but where's Stormborn now? Shouldn't he be here with you guys?" he asked.

Suki nodded. "He'll be here soon. He had some business with a giant war robot to take care of," she explained. Teo raised an eyebrow. "It's a long story. If either of these two or Stormborn wants to tell you the story, you're going to want to ask them. Now," her attention returned to them, "would you guys mind following me again?"

"Of course not," Sokka sighed dreamily as he looked at her. Katara flicked him on the forehead and he snapped to attention. "I mean, lead the way."

Suki chuckled and walked out of the room while calling over her shoulder, "See you later, Tinkerbell!" Teo groaned as the twins snickered and followed her back out to the living room. "Go ahead and take a seat, guys. Get comfortable." Katara chose to sit down on one of the couches while Sokka dove into a recliner and put his feet up, letting out a relaxed sigh with his hands behind his head. Suki sat down on the table in front of them and wondered how to proceed. "So, I'm sure you guys have a lot of questions, but before you we go into that, I need to ask you guys something."

Katara looked at her in surprise. "What do _you _want to ask _us_?"

"Well," Suki started nervously while playing with her hair, "it's just an idea that I had. I don't know if Stormborn would go for it or not, but I think it could work if he gives it a chance."

"Wait, what's his actual name?" Katara questioned, hoping someone would finally tell her what had been bugging her since the previous night.

Suki waved her off. "Sorry, I shouldn't be the one who decides whether you get to know his actual name or not. He'll have to decide that for himself." Katara pouted a little but understood. "Anyways, Stormborn's been in this game for a while now. If I remember correctly, he's been in it for… seven years?" she asked herself.

"Eight," Teo's voice on an intercom boomed at her.

"Teo!" she grumbled as she covered her ears. "Don't use the intercom unless absolutely necessary! You know how loud it is out here!"

"Sorry," he apologized and didn't speak again.

Shaking her head at him, she returned to her previous train of thought. "Anyways, he's been doing this for a long time, and sometimes he takes on more than he can handle on his own. My plan is to find ways to lighten that burden on him as much as I can. He's training me to do what he does so I can help him out on his missions, just without the super powerful bending obviously." She paused as she thought about how to put her ideas into the best words possible. "What he hasn't planned on was possibly having more people join us."

Sokka quirked a brow, "Okay… what exactly was it that you wanted to ask us?"

Suki looked them both right in their eyes. "What I'm asking is… if you guys might consider joining our cause…"


	3. Chapter 3: New Recruits

Chapter 3: New Recruits

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

The room was filled with an unnerving silence as Suki looked both of the Aquas in their faces, waiting patiently for them to say anything. "What do you mean 'would we consider joining your cause'?" Katara finally spoke up.

"Well," Suki started, "like I said before, Stormborn takes on way more than he really should and it would be nice if we had more people who could help share that burden."

"Okay, but why _us_?" Sokka asked as he sat forward in his chair, completely focused on the beautiful girl in front of him.

Suki shrugged. "Truth be told, I wasn't planning on asking when I first met you guys. If I'm being honest, I thought you were an idiot and that Katara wouldn't be able to hold her own in a fight."

"You were half right," Katara smirked.

"Hey!" Sokka fumed.

Suki put up her hand to stop them. "Okay, okay. Can we get back to the topic at hand please?" They both nodded and returned their attention to her. "Like I was saying, I thought those things, but I was wrong. You both more than proved yourselves capable of holding your own in a fight and have shown that you have the potential to join us." She was silent for a moment. "It's not even a definite thing, this is just something I would like to happen so Stormborn doesn't feel so overwhelmed with everything that's been going on lately."

"What exactly has been going on lately?" Katara asked worriedly.

"Oh you know, the usual," Suki sighed. "People getting kidnapped, blowing up warehouses, tracking down corrupt officials… you know. Just your average day."

Sokka laughed, "Yep. My average day totally includes all of those things." Suki gave him a look and he stopped laughing. "Okay, let's just say that we did do this… how would we be able to help out?"

"If you guys do join us, then we'll start you off with training," Suki explained as she showed off her blade. "If you guys do well with combat training, then we'll start training you on how to use these."

Katara looked at the device with interest. "What exactly is that? I mean, I know it's a blade that you guys use to fight, but I've never seen anything like it before."

Suki chuckled, "Yeah, you probably haven't. It's never been used by anyone outside of this group." She removed the bracer from her sleeve and handed it to Katara who looked closer at it. "Stormborn came up with this himself years ago. He wanted to make a weapon that was efficient and wouldn't be able to be detected by the human eye. Then after some tinkering, he made these."

Sokka took it from Katara and looked at it closely. "It's amazing," he said in awe as he examined it. "I thought your tech guy would be the one to come up with that."

"Nope," Suki shook her head. "He created this before he met Teo. Stormborn was on his own for the first couple of years until he and Teo crossed paths."

"And what about you?" Katara asked.

"What about me?"

"When did you join them?" Katara wondered. "You obviously have been here a decent amount of time. What's your story?"

Suki shifted uncomfortably on the table and looked down at her hands. "I came here a couple months ago. I was one of the first people to get taken in for their 'testing' even though I'm not a bender."

Katara became confused. "They took you even though you're not a bender?"

"Yup," Suki chuckled. "Ridiculous right? They're rounding up all the benders they can, and they made a mistake and kidnapped a non-bender." She shook her head and resumed her story. "Anyway, they kidnapped me and had me in one of their warehouses. Then Stormborn came in and… well basically did what he did for you. Except it was different for me. I didn't have a family to go back to. My parents died several years ago in a shootout, so I lived by myself for a while until that happened. When he helped us all escape, I offered to help him since I had no other purpose for my life. He was reluctant at first, but I convinced him that I could help him and would be a great addition to his team. The last couple months I've been training with him and have just recently started training with the blades," she pointed to the thing Sokka was holding.

"Hmmm," Sokka hummed thoughtfully as he looked at her. "How long were you in combat training before you started using the blades?"

Suki thought about it for a moment. "Well, it took me about a month and a half where I was at a decent enough level to start using it. But it might be different for you guys. You could either get it down faster or slower, depending on how well you learn." She shook her head. "I'm getting ahead of myself. First I need to see if you guys are interested in this at all."

Katara didn't hesitate. "Sign me up!"

"What?!" Sokka's eyes widened to the size of plates.

"I said, 'Sign me up'," Katara repeated with a roll of her eyes. "Do you not understand basic English, Sokka?"

Sokka looked at her in absolute disbelief. "Um, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked in a way that clearly needed no answer. Katara nodded and she followed him over to a corner of the kitchen. "What are you thinking?!" he whisper-shouted.

"I'm thinking that we have a chance here to do some good," Katara told him. "We both apparently have what it takes to do this, and one way or another, we're clearly targets now. Why wait in here all of the time not really knowing how to fight against them when we could learn how to fight back and have some meaning in our lives?"

He didn't believe her for a second. "Yeah, _that's_ why you want to do this," he drawled sarcastically as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you sure it's not because you want to spend more time with a certain someone?"

Katara pretended to not know what he was talking about. "Sokka, I love you, but I think we both know that neither of us wants to spend more time with each other," she attempted to act like she didn't know what he was accusing her of.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" he pointed a finger in her face accusingly. "Don't think for a second I haven't noticed the way you've been acting around him. Giving him goo-goo eyes and refusing to go when he volunteers to fight alone! I saw everything!" his voice was rising dangerously close to yelling.

"Sokka, calm down!" Katara shushed him and leaned back against the counter. "I'll admit, it _is_ a bonus, but it's not the main reason I'm considering this." She paused for a moment. "Do you remember how Mom died?"

Sokka's face dropped. "Yeah…" he said reluctantly. "I remember. How could I forget? It was one of the worst days of my life…" he trailed off sadly.

Katara gave him a quick hug. "I know, Sokka. Trust me, it was for me too. My point here is that at the time we couldn't be there to save her, no matter how badly we wanted to. Now by doing this, we could save someone else who is in her situation and save some poor kid from having to go through what we went through. We could _really_ make a difference instead of just living our regular mundane lives." Sokka was silent for a few moments. "So, what do you think?"

After some more silence, he sighed and nodded slowly. "You're right. We should use this as an opportunity to do some good. Besides, this way I wouldn't have to keep my job and I could get to train with Stormborn!" He jumped up and down in excitement. "I'm going to be trained by Stormborn!"

"Easy there, buddy," Katara chuckled. "One step at a time. We still don't know if Stormborn will allow us to join or not, so I wouldn't get too excited yet. Let's just go see what happens." Sokka nodded in agreement and followed her back out to the living room.

"Well?" Suki asked a little nervously. "What do you guys think?"

Katara and Sokka nodded to each other. "We're willing to try it, that is if Stormborn will have us," Sokka told her.

Suki couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "Good. You guys were starting to worry me there for a second," she laughed a little. She stood up and gave them each a hug, much to Sokka's pleasure as he held her close. After a few moments, Suki tried to get out of his grip, but found that she couldn't. "Um, Sokka? Would you mind letting me go, please?" she asked politely.

"Oh yeah. Sorry," Sokka smiled sheepishly and let his grip on her go. "So, when is Stormborn going to get here?"

"Yeah," Katara cut in worriedly. "Is he alright? I mean it's been like an hour since we last saw him. Do you think he got hurt? Or what if he got captured? Or-"

Suki put a hand up. "Katara, relax," she tried to soothe her. "I'm sure he's fine." She paused and looked down at her feet worriedly. "I hope."

Katara's worry only grew. "But what if he's not? What if he's seriously hurt and he needs us? What if-" Before she could finish her sentence, a loud thud was heard from above them. A moment later, a hatch above the middle of the room opened and Aang landed with one hand on the ground as he landed roughly. Katara gasped in surprise. "Stormborn!" Both she and Suki ran up to him and tackled him in a hug.

"Uh, I'm okay guys," he chuckled as the girls nearly crushed him in their collective embrace. "Were you guys worried about me?" he teased.

Suki pulled back and smiled at him. "You have no idea," she sighed in relief. Katara gave her a weird look, but she just shrugged it off and returned her attention to him. "So what happened? Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"Well, after you guys left, I distracted it until you guys had enough time to get away," he explained with a shrug. "Then I took a huge bolt of lightning and completely destroyed it. That thing was reduced to nothing but burning hunks of metal and ash. After that, the cops finally showed up and tried to get to me. I didn't want them figuring out where the safehouse is so I led them far away from here and disappeared. Then I took the long way around to our upper entrance."

"Oh," Katara said in understanding. "That explains why it took you so long to get here." She hugged him again. "We were really worried about you," she mumbled into his shoulder.

Aang blushed and returned the hug. "Thanks, but I'm okay. No need to worry," he mumbled back as he rested his head on top of hers. Katara smiled and let out a content sigh as she was in his arms. Suki looked between the two in confusion, but just shook it off.

"Okay you two," she separated them, leaving a pissed off looking Katara and looked to Aang. "We've got stuff to talk about."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do we have to talk about?" he asked curiously.

Suki gestured for him to sit down on a couch and he did so. Suki had intended to sit next to him, but Katara made a mad dash and occupied her seat before she could do anything about it. A small growl escaped her throat but she pushed it down and made herself get back to business. Finally taking a seat on the table, she began, "Well, I just wanted to talk about an idea that I had."

"What idea did you have?" he questioned warily. "This isn't _that_ idea is it? Because I already told you, I'm not doing it," he refused as politely as he could.

She shook her head quickly. "No, it's not _that_ idea. Although you know that I would love to do that thing as well," she winked flirtily at him, making Katara growl a little.

"How about we get to what we're actually here to talk about?" Katara asked a little desperately.

"Yeah, that's kind of what I'm here for," Aang agreed. "So, what's going on?"

Suki didn't say anything for a moment, fearing his response to what she was asking. "Well… I got an idea while we were out there fighting and I thought I'd run it by you and see what you think." He motioned for her to continue. "It's totally up to you, but… I think we should… get some new recruits to help us out."

His eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

"I said that I think we should get some more recruits," she repeated herself more forcefully. "Starting with these two," she gestured to the twins.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked demandingly. She nodded and followed him to another room down the hallway. He turned around and looked at her as if she was crazy. "Are you crazy? I was reluctant enough to let _you_ join us, but now you think we should add some random civilians to our group? What are you thinking?"

Suki rolled her eyes. "I'm thinking that you take on way more than you should, Mr. "I'm too busy to have a relationship"," she told him.

"So that's what this is about?" Aang asked incredulously. "You want to make me not be so busy so I'll date you?"

"No, that's not why I want to do this," she assured him. "I think that this could be a good idea because then it takes more stress off of your shoulders."

"But it also puts on more because I'd have two more people to worry about!" he argued.

Suki nodded in understanding, trying not to provoke his wrath. "I understand that, but I know how stressed out you have been lately. And since you won't let me help you the way I want to, I have to come up with other solutions. This way, we get some more people to carry the weight of protecting the city and they get a chance to do something good with their lives."

"I don't know…" Aang trailed off unsurely. He didn't want to admit it, but he was mostly reluctant because he didn't want Katara to get involved in this. It was a dangerous thing to get involved in, and he didn't want anything to happen to her. _What is wrong with me? You can't get attached to her or anyone else. Stop it,_ He thought with an exasperated sigh.

"What, is someone worried about not getting all of the credit anymore?" she teased. He gave her a look and she stopped. "You know I'm kidding, but really, I think we should go for this. They could really help us and help themselves accomplish something other than work and sleep."

Aang was silent for another moment before he let out a long sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he admitted. "Fine, we'll ask them if they're interested or not."

Suki smiled and hugged him. "Thank you."

"No problem," he hugged her back and walked to the door. "Now come on, let's go see if we're about to get new recruits or not." He walked out back to the living room and sat down at the table while Suki sat down next to Katara, much to Katara's displeasure. "So," he started, "I assume that Silver here has told you her plan?"

They both nodded while Suki laughed, "I told them my name, Stormborn."

"Noted," he responded. "So _Suki_ told you guys the plan. Well, what do you think?"

"We're in," Sokka said determinedly.

"Yeah," Katara agreed with a big smile.

Aang shook his head. "Hey, don't rush into this decision. At the very least take a minute to think about it. What we do isn't easy. We have very intensive training, long late night missions, and not to mention lots of danger involved in our daily lives. Not to mention the fact that there's always a chance a hitman or an army could eventually find this place and try to kill us. There's a very good chance you guys could get killed from this," he choked up a little at the thought of Katara getting hurt, but pushed it down. "Make sure that you guys are willing to risk your lives, because it may just come to that."

They were silent for a moment before they nodded to each other. "We understand the risks and we accept them. We want to make a difference and are willing to pay with our lives if it means that we can have that chance," Sokka told him confidently.

"Alright then," Aang nodded in response. "We'll start your training tomorrow. I hope you guys don't mind getting up at seven, because that's when it starts." He laughed as their faces dropped. "Don't worry, you guys will get used to it. It took me a while too, but I eventually got used to it, just like Suki and Teo. Now, before we go any further, I should probably properly introduce myself." _Yes! Finally!_ Katara thought happily. He took off his hood and smiled at her. "The name's Aang."

* * *

"Move it soldiers! If one of you falls behind, the rest of you will have to do another lap!" All of the soldiers groaned and kept up their pace. The man shook his head at them. "It's so hard to find good mercenaries these days," he sighed.

"Yes, I've found it truly is these days," a voice behind him agreed. He turned around and was surprised to see a young man with a scar on his face. "Ah, 'Prince' Zuko. It's good to see you again. What can I do for you?"

Zuko walked up to him and shook his hand. "I'm here on behalf of my father. He needs another dozen platoons sent to him. There has been a great loss of soldiers recently, apparently," he said uncaringly.

"Of course," the man agreed. "I will have them sent to him at once. He does understand that my prices have gone up recently, right?"

Zuko nodded. "Of course. Supply and demand and all that. It's not like we can't afford it," he pointed out. They both laughed at the thought of them ever running out of money. "So, I take it I can give my father good news?"

"Yes sir," the man bowed. "I'll have them sent to him immediately."

"Great. Thank you Mr. Smith," Zuko bowed back to him.

The man patted him on the back. "No need for formalities, Zuko. You _are_ engaged to my niece after all. Soon we'll be family."

Zuko smiled at that. "Yes, I look forward to that very much. Then I'll have two awesome Uncles." The man grinned and ruffled his head in response. "Well, I suppose I should get going. It was great to see you again, Warden."

The 'Warden' scoffed, "What did I just say about formalities? Besides, that name's a little outdated. I don't run a prison anymore, so I really shouldn't be called that."

"You know as well as I do titles stick around forever," Zuko chuckled. "I'll see you later, Mr. Smith." He waved goodbye and walked back to his limo. Taking out his phone, he dialed a number and called it, listening to it ring as he grew bored again.

"Hello?" a voice on the other line finally answered.

"Father, it's me Zuko," he told him.

"Ah, Prince Zuko. Have you secured what I need?"

"Yes Father."

He could hear the smile in his voice. "Good, good. I've unfortunately run out of a lot of them recently. This will help make sure we have what we need for our purposes."

Zuko nodded. "Of course, Father. They are on their way as we speak."

"Good. I must say Zuko, I am proud of you," he admitted, making Zuko smile a little. "After I punished you, you have become a model son. I am very pleased with how you have turned out."

He frowned and touched his scar, feeling the leathery skin that he had for years. "Yes, I agree father," he responded, trying his best to hold back his anger.

"I'm glad. Now, get back here and we'll put you to work."

"Yes Father. I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up the phone and let out a loud sigh. This was how his life was now. He worked for his father, who he secretly hated, but didn't have much choice in helping him. It was either obey him or die, because his father had enough wealth and resources to track him down anywhere, so he had no choice but to be obedient and make the most of his life. To his surprise, his phone started buzzing. He looked at it to see that his fiance was calling. With a smile on his face, he answered, "Hey honey."

"Honey?" she drawled dully. "Really, Zuko? Were doing _that _now?"

"What? I can't call my fiance 'honey'?" he asked in confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that we're not like everyone else, you know?" she told him. "We don't call each other 'honey' or anything like that."

He laughed a little, "Well we can't exactly call each other what we do in the bedroom."

Her voice rose in embarrassment, "That's not what I meant, and you know that!" He just chuckled and let her speak. "I just don't want us to start acting like other couples. You know how much I hate other people."

"I know," he smiled. "It's one of the many reasons I love you. If you really don't want me to, I won't call you 'honey' anymore."

"Thank you, Zuko," she said gratefully.

"No problem my fire lily," he joked.

"Zuko," she warned him.

He smirked and rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll stop with that too. You're lucky I love you or I would keep going on with different nicknames for you. So, what _can_ I call you besides your name?"

She took a moment to think about it. "How about we just keep calling each other 'My Love'? That's far better than adopting a pet name that will make us like everyone else."

"But a lot of other people do that anyway," he argued.

"Yeah, but it's the only thing I can think of that doesn't make me want to puke," she said disgustedly.

He let out a long fake sigh and smiled a little. This was one of the main reasons he loved her. She wasn't like any other girl in the world. Her independence was known since she was young, and moments like this just proved it further, much to his delight. "Okay, whatever you want My Love." His Limo pulled up to his family's business center. "I gotta go. My Father's got a lot of work for me to do."

"Why do you put up with him, Zuko?" she asked seriously. "I know you don't like working for him, and after all that he's done to you…"

"I know Mai. Trust me," he lowered his voice. "If I had any other choice, I would leave, but I can't. So I'm stuck here until either I die or he dies."

She was silent for a moment. "Okay, if you say so. Be careful out there Zuko, I don't want you to get hurt."

He smiled, "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'll see you at home later. Love you, Mai."

"Love you too, Zuko. See you later." He hung up and let out a long sigh. "Well, I guess it's back to work for me." Getting out of the limo, he waved to the driver and went back up to the building. As soon as he walked in, an assistant came in and ushered him off to another room. "What's going on?" he asked in confusion.

"Your father wants you to get to work immediately," the assistant told him. "It sounds like he's got a lot of work for you to do."

Zuko groaned and nodded. "Alright, let's get this over with." They walked into the room and found a large stack of papers, many seemed to be from years ago.

The assistant looked at him. "Your father would like you to look through all of these newspapers and try to find any details about the person in it that you can."

"Yes sir," he mock saluted. The assistant just walked out and closed the door behind him. Zuko sat down and started looking through each of the newspapers, searching a figure who appeared to be doing incredible bending feats. "Wow, that's impressive," he thought aloud as he saw one of him summoning a giant lightning bolt onto a robot. He took a look at the headline and raised an eyebrow. "Stormborn? What kind of name is that?" Pulling out his phone, he searched the name on the internet and looked through several articles on the Stormborns. "The most powerful bender alive, is he?" he mused. An idea popped into his mind. One that not only would give him his freedom, but would exact his revenge as well. "I need to find him…"

* * *

"Well, I guess since you guys will be joining us we should make sure you guys have rooms," Aang said after introducing himself. Katara was still staring at him dreamily, completely on cloud nine from finally knowing what his name was. It had only been not even a day, but she had wanted to know so badly it felt more like years. But now she finally knew, and she was content. "Um, are you okay there Miss Katara?"

She snapped out of her happy daze and nodded quickly, "Yeah I'm fine. So, you were saying something about rooms? Do you guys by chance bunk with each other?" she asked hoping he would say yes.

He chuckled a little, "No. We have more than enough rooms here for all of us, so we don't share rooms." She pouted a little but nodded again. Standing up, he gestured for them to follow him as he walked towards the elevator. "Are you coming with, Suki?" he called as he saw her still sitting on a couch.

"No, I'm good!" she called out with a smile. "I'll see you later!" He shrugged and punched in the code while Suki waved keeping her smile on her face until the doors closed. "Bitch," she muttered as her smile dropped into a frown.

"Aww. Is someone getting jealous?" Teo teased as he walked up to her.

She glared at him. "Shut up, Teo. I don't know what you're talking about. They're just friends, and he said it himself, he's not going to date anyone."

"I don't know," he said in a sing-song voice. "They sure seemed to enjoy holding each other. I'm not sure if he's going to keep that rule with her around."

Suki growled lowly in her throat. "Shut up!" she almost shouted.

He put his hands up in surrender. "Relax! I was just kidding!" She settled down a little before he whispered to himself, "A little."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" he responded quickly.

She didn't look like she believed him, but eventually gave up and walked away. "If you need me, I'll be punching some dummies' lights out!" Teo did his best to stop himself from bursting out laughing and got back to work wondering if what he said was true.

* * *

The elevator door dinged and opened to reveal a large room that led off to many other different rooms. Katara noticed one was a huge gym, another appeared to be a firing range, and one was completely out of place. It appeared to be a dance room with a disco ball hanging from the ceiling and what looked like DJ equipment to the right of the room. The main room looked like it was a command room. Blueprints and schematics were laid out everywhere with various pieces of armor and weaponry scattered throughout the room. There was another small kitchen in the corner, but it was clearly used just for drinks. "So this is our… well I guess command room even though we don't own an army," Aang told them. "We make our plans here and take pieces of enemy armor to figure out weak points and to use them to the best advantage. As you can see, we also take all the blueprints we can of enemy warehouses to find the best way to get in." He walked down the hall and showed off a couple of rooms. "This rooms our firing range, exclusively used by Teo and Suki, though since you guys are joining us, you guys will be able to use it too."

"Really?" Sokka asked excitedly.

"Yeah," Aang grinned. "If you guys are going to go out in the field, it's a good idea to know how to use a gun. Especially when you're in a tense situation and your blade is broken."

Katara raised an eyebrow, "Has that happened to you before?"

Aang smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… it was sort of an accident. I was trying to get away from some guys who were hunting me and tripped myself, so I stuck out my blade to slow myself down and ended up breaking it."

"How did you get out of that?" Sokka asked in surprise.

"I just used the air to slow myself down and when it came time to fight them, I took one of their guns and shot them," he explained with a shrug. "All I can say is that it _definitely_ can come in handy to know how to use a gun."

Sokka became confused. "So if you think it's a good idea to know how to use a gun, then why don't you carry one? I mean, I'm sure they would come in handy."

"I don't for a couple reasons," Aang told him. "For one, I already have enough gadgets on me, let alone a gun that would take up more space on me would only slow me down and take up space for stuff that could be of more use than a gun would be. Two, they might come in handy, but they also are very dangerous. Let's just say that I know from experience to make sure you have the safety on when you don't use it."

They both snickered, but Katara stopped as she remembered that it was him. "Gotcha," Sokka laughed as he finally stopped. "That must be pretty embarrassing."

"Oh, you're one to talk, Sokka!" Katara chided him. "You _literally_ shot yourself in the foot with a desert eagle when you were fifteen!"

"Hey!" he complained. "I thought we agreed to not talk about that!"

"Okay you two!" Aang cut in before it could go any further. "I'll admit, it was pretty embarrassing, but I learned from my mistake and that's what matters. Just like I'm sure you learned from yours to not shoot yourself in the foot again," he joked. Katara laughed and Sokka just rolled his eyes. "Now, moving on, as you can see we've got a workout and training area. This is where we'll meet every morning unless I'm still out on a mission for your training. Depending on how things go, I might not need to keep training you if Suki learns quickly enough."

Katara piped up, "Um, if it's all the same to you, I think I'd prefer to learn from you."

Aang's brows furrowed. "Why?"

"No reason," she said hastily, making him even more confused. "I just think that I would be better off learning from you than from her is all. You and I get along really well, and you seem like you'd be a great teacher, so I'd rather learn from you," she amended.

"Okay," Aang nodded in understanding. "Well, I'll try my best, but I'm not always going to be here. Especially if I end up getting killed on a mission, then Suki and Teo will be the new leaders of the group since they have more experience." Katara hated thinking about Aang possibly dying, but she kept her mouth shut. "Then this room here," he continued, "is our dance room."

Sokka couldn't help but laugh. "You guys have a dance room?"

Aang grinned, "Yeah. I know it's definitely out of place here, but I've found that sometimes you need to do something fun when most of your day is work. And there's no better way to relieve some stress than to have some fun and dance."

"I can think of a better way to relieve some stress," Sokka joked, making Katara elbow him.

"Sokka!"

Aang just laughed and shook his head at him. "Wow, someone's got their head in the gutters, now don't you?" He turned around and started walking down the hallway. "So this is where we all sleep. As you can see, we have more than enough space for you guys here," he gestured to all of the rooms that were along the long hallway.

Katara asked, "Why do you guys have so many rooms? Did you have a larger group before?"

"No, we just like to be prepared," he told her. "My reasoning was in case we had to have someone who was being hunted down stay with us, but I guess now it'll work for adding more people to the team."

"How can you guys afford all of this?" she asked in surprise. "I mean, this has to be _at least_ a multi-million project."

Aang smiled a little. "Teo, he's an absolute genius. He's got the hacking skills of someone twenty years older than him, and could probably beat them if he tried. After I met him and we agreed to start working together for the good of the city, he started taking small amounts of money from the richest and snobbiest celebrities in the world. Not enough to raise an alarm, just like a quarter of a million here and there every once in a while and would mark it as a charitable donation to avoid suspicion."

"Okay, but how did you get this all built? I'm sure if any regular construction crew knew about this, they probably would have reported you," Sokka questioned.

"Not this crew," Aang responded. "I've known the owner of the crew for a long time. She's not a blabbermouth and she is one of the most loyal people I've ever met. She won't say anything, even if it means she'll die." They nodded and he walked to the end of the hallway. "Before I show you guys your rooms, I want to show you guys one of my favorite parts about this place," he said excitedly. Opening the door to his right, he revealed what appeared to be a guy's hangout room. There was a large flatscreen TV hanging up on a wall with a mini fridge in the corner and a playstation connected to it sitting on a table. A few bean bag chairs sat in front of the table and what appeared to be a robot stood behind a counter. Not to mention a large jukebox sitting in the other corner of the room along with a laptop plugged into it.

"Whoa," Sokka breathed as he took the room in. "This is amazing!"

"Yup," Aang smiled. "Unless I'm out on a mission, Teo and I hang out here every friday night and have our bro time."

Katara looked at him. "What about Suki? What does she do?"

"The room across from this is her girl hangout room. We actually just got it finished about a week ago," he told her. "If you want to when we all have time off, you can hang out with her or if you want you can hang out with us."

Sokka looked at him as if he was crazy. "Dude, it's a _bro cave_, not a bro and one sister cave!"

Aang looked like he was about to argue, but Katara put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "It's fine, Aang. I'll be fine hanging out with Suki."

"Okay, if you say so," he said unsurely. "Anyway, come over here guys and meet Bill." He walked over and snapped his fingers, making the robot snap to attention. "Guys, meet Bill. He's our personal chef and makes our drinks and stuff."

Sokka's jaw dropped. "Really? That's so awesome!"

Aang snickered, "Well I'm glad you like that, Sokka. If you're hungry just tell him what you want and he'll have it right up for you." Sokka looked at him and tackled him in a hug, making Aang laugh a little. "Okay there buddy. I get that you're excited, but would you mind giving me some space?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," Sokka apologized sheepishly.

"Now come on," Aang motioned for them to follow. "I think it's about time we get you guys a place to sleep." They followed him back out into the hallway as he picked a room. "We have guys on one side and girls on the other." He passed the first two rooms. "Here Sokka, this one will be yours. You're right across from Suki." Sokka smiled at that, but didn't say anything. "Go ahead and get settled in. I guess you can't really get settled in since you don't have any of your stuff with you." He paused in thought. "That reminds me, we'll have to go collect your guys' stuff later." Sokka walked in and shut the door behind him. Aang turned to Katara. "Now to your room." He led the way to the room across from his. "You'll have the room across from me so you know which room is yours."

"Okay, no problem," Katara smiled at him. He smiled back and pressed a button which opened the door.

"These doors are automatic so that we could add some special security features to them," he explained. "If we're ever under attack, we can run to our rooms and seal it. If we need to get out of here, each room has its own escape pod that can go underground, fly, or go through water. They're even flame resistant and made with the toughest materials available. It'll come in handy if we ever need to escape from here, but considering how much time and money was put into it, I _really _hope it doesn't come to that," he admitted. He walked in and turned on the lights, revealing a huge room with a queen sized bed and a large wooden dresser that had a fifty inch TV on it. The room itself was purple, but something seemed off about it. "As you can see here, the room color is purple but you can change it anytime you want." When Katara gave him a confused look, he walked over to a remote that was sitting on the dresser and handed it to her. "This remote controls the functions of your room. The paint on the walls are changeable, so whatever color you pick will be the color of your walls. I can't do the same thing for your bed and dressers, but at least you can pick the color of your room without having to repaint it."

"It's perfectly fine," she assured him. Taking a closer look at the remote, she decided to go with a light blue, making the room a lot brighter. "Wow, it's gorgeous."

Aang couldn't help but stare at her a little. "Yeah, it really is," he said without taking his eyes off of her. She looked back over to him and they both blushed as he looked away quickly. "Anyway, as you can see you have a bathroom here complete with a hot tub and a shower. It's already stocked with shampoo, conditioner and whatever else you might need for personal hygiene. Do you have any questions?"

Katara shook her head. "No, I think I'm good. Thank you for showing me my room," she thanked him with a kiss on his cheek.

He blushed again but acted like he hadn't. "No problem. So, I guess I should go over and show your brother what to do."

"Yeah, I guess so," she sighed sadly before an idea popped into her mind. "Do you think you could sleep here with me tonight? I don't sleep well with in places I'm not used to," she lied.

"Uh…" he blushed even deeper than before. "I don't know…"

"Please," she nearly begged with her big eyes. "You're the only one who I feel safe around besides my brother, and I am _not_ asking him to stay here with me. Please?" she stuck her bottom lip out.

Fortunately for her, he finally broke down and gave in. "Alright, but just for tonight. And you can't tell anyone about this, otherwise someone will be _very_ upset, okay?"

Katara's brows furrowed. "Who would be upset about you sleeping in my room? I mean besides my brother," she admitted unabashadley.

"Suki," Aang told her honestly. "She's kind of got a thing for me, so she wouldn't be too happy to hear about this."

_I knew it! _Katara thought angrily. _She's after him too!_ "Oh, do you have a thing for her, too?" she asked, hoping to hear anything other than what she feared.

He shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, she's a really nice girl and is very attractive, but I only think of her as a friend." Katara let out a secret sigh of relief. "Besides, I make it a rule to not date anyone while I'm doing this job."

Katara's eyes widened. "You don't date anyone while you do this?"

"Nope. I don't make anybody else follow that rule, but I make myself not get attached to anyone in case I'm in a situation that could make or break the city," he explained. "I know that if I fell in love with a girl that it could be a big problem, so I make sure to just stick with my friends."

"Oh," Katara sighed in disappointment. _Maybe I can change his mind,_ she thought hopefully. "Well, if you ever met the right girl, would you maybe change your mind?"

Aang thought about it for a moment. _Wait, why is she asking me these things?_ Shaking his head at himself, he responded, "It would have to be the love of my life, and even that would be risky. It's not that I don't want to be in a relationship, it's just that I take my job very seriously. I don't want a girl I'm involved with to be put in danger because I chose to be in a dangerous line of work."

"But what if said girl is in a dangerous line of work as well?" Katara asked. "Then would you be willing to try it?"

Aang became confused. "Why? Is there someone you're interested in? Oh, you like Teo don't you?" he asked a little sadly, internally kicking himself for showing feelings of jealousy.

"No no, not Teo," she said quickly. "It's someone else."

He raised an eyebrow, "Who else could it be?" Before she could answer, a loud thud came from another room and he grew worried. "Um, I'll be back in a little bit. It sounds like your brother's starting to break stuff already."

She tried to protest, but he ran out of the room quickly before she could get the chance. "Damn it," she muttered to herself. "How am I supposed to convince him to break his rule?" Her stomach grumbled and she walked around in her room to see if there was any snacks. There was a mini fridge sitting next to her bed that she hadn't seen before, and she wondered if there would be any food in it. She walked over and opened it to find some drinks and some string cheese. Quickly eating it, she flopped down on her bed and turned the TV on, waiting patiently for Aang to come back for the night. A few hours later, Aang came in with some plates full of different foods. They smelled so good, she could feel some drool escaping her mouth.

"Wow. Looks like someone's hungry," he teased.

She laughed a little. "Yeah, you could say that. I haven't had anything to eat since some sea prunes from the car." He gave her the plate and she dug in quickly, eating everything in record time. Aang just smiled and ate his food slowly, watching the TV as he drank some water. "Thank you by the way."

"For what?" he asked curiously.

"For the expensive car that I would _never_ have expected to get," she started. "For saving me and my brother from being kidnapped and being…" she trailed off.

He gave her a hug which she returned eagerly. "I'm sorry that it almost came to that. I'm glad that I was there to stop it. That guy was an asshole, but I can't say I blame him for finding you attractive. You are absolutely gorgeous," he admitted while averting his eyes.

She smiled widely. "Well thanks. You're pretty good-looking yourself." He smiled back and stared deeply into her eyes while she stared into his. Katara took a chance and started leaning in when his earpiece started buzzing. She inwardly groaned as he answered it.

"What's up, Teo? Yeah I know, I'm just hanging out with Katara. Relax, it's fine, we'll work on that tomorrow. No, you're not getting out of fighting tomorrow. In fact, you'll be fighting _two_ girls tomorrow." Katara laughed a little when she heard Teo groan loudly. "I know you're scared to, but if you get over your fear, you would actually do a good job. You got it in you, Teo. I know you do. Hey no problem man. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Night man." He pressed a button and ended the call. "So," he started while moving their plates to the nightstand next to him. "Do you think you're ready to try and get some sleep?" She nodded. "Okay. I'll just be on the floor over here." Getting up slowly, he moved over to the other side of the room and laid down on the ground with his hands behind his head after taking off his jacket and shoes.

"Aang!" she chided him. "I'm not letting you sleep on the ground!"

"Okay," he shrugged. "I'll go sleep in the bathtub." Before he could move, she bolted up from the bed and pulled him up and dragged him over to the bed. "Uh Katara? What are you doing?"

"You're not sleeping on the floor or in a bathtub, Aang!" she argued as she laid him down. "We'll just share the bed. It's not a big deal!"

Aang blushed heavily. "Katara, I don't think that's a good idea-"

Katara shushed him with a finger to his lips. "Relax. It's for one night. It's not a big deal. So what if we'll be a little… _closer_ than usual?" He looked like he wanted to argue further, but she quickly turned off the lights and shut off the TV before hopping back onto the bed. "Now get some sleep. I want you at your best for my first day of training." He finally surrendered and closed his eyes. His eyes shot open when he felt Katara snuggle against him and bury her face into his chest, making him blush all the way down to his neck. After a few deep breaths, he finally calmed down enough and looked down at the girl who he hadn't even known a full day snuggled up against him. He didn't know what it was, but something about her drove him a little wild, and he feared what that would lead to. Shaking his head at himself, he slowly wrapped his arms around her and held her close, both falling asleep with a smile on their faces.


	4. Chapter 4: Training Day

Chapter 4: Training Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

"Aang, wake up." Aang's eyes slowly opened to reveal Katara leaning over him in nothing but a bra and some underwear. "Finally, you're awake," she purred as she ran her hands up and down his arms.

"What are you doing Katara?" he asked in surprise, completely frozen in her piercing gaze.

"I'm doing what I've wanted to do since the moment I laid eyes on you," she whispered huskily in his ear, making him shiver. One hand went from his arm upwards to cup his cheek. "And I think you've been wanting this too." She slowly started leaning into him as he tried to fight it, but found that he couldn't for the life of him. He started leaning in as well and their lips collided, sending a spark shooting through his system. She deepened the kiss and moved onto his lap, straddling his waist and putting both her hands on his face to hold him in place.

"Oh Katara," he mumbled against her lips. She smiled into the kiss and ran her hands through his hair, loving how soft it felt between her fingers. He pulled her closer so that she was completely on top of him, pulling her closer with his hands in her hair. She sighed contentedly in his mouth as she moved her hands down from his hair and reached them underneath his shirt, loving the feeling of his rock hard pecs on her fingers. Her hips grinded against his, making him moan loudly into her lips.

She smirked. "I can see you want me just as much as I want you." He didn't say anything as he was too lost in how good she felt against him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that this wasn't a good idea, but it was a little hard to think about that when a beautiful and almost naked girl was completely on top of him. She snaked her hand down into his pants and felt his rapidly hardening erection. "Wow," she breathed. "You're big." Getting off of him for a moment, she pulled off her bra and and her underwear, leaving her completely bare before him. "Do you like what you see?" she smiled seductively.

He nodded with a gulp. "Y-yeah."

She laughed a little and crawled over to him. "Well, I like what I see too. How about we make it a little more even?" Taking the edges of his pants, she slowly pulled it down along with his underwear and smiled at his length. "I'm going to enjoy this," she whispered with a wink. She put some spit onto her hand and stroked him softly, making him moan and clench the sheets. "Oh don't get too excited yet. We're just getting started." Katara crawled back up onto his lap and hovered her entrance over his length. "Are you ready for this?" He nodded eagerly. She smiled and slammed down on him, making them both gasp.

* * *

Aang shot up from his position on the bed and looked around wildly, still trying to figure out what was going on. _It was just a dream, _he realized tiredly and with a hint of disappointment. Laying his head back down, he felt something warm against him. He dismissed it as his tiredness causing delusions, but when the warmness shifted and rolled on top of him, he knew he wasn't imagining anything. One eye peaked open to see…

"Katara?" he gasped, but covered his mouth so he wouldn't wake her. After a few moments of no response from her, he dropped his hand from his mouth and stared at her. Dirty thoughts from his dream crept into his mind as he felt her chest against his, much to his displeasure. As much as he wanted to, he also very much _didn't_ want to get her off of him, and that was a problem. His 'no attachment' rule was becoming harder and harder to follow, especially when she was laying down on top of him and being so close. He couldn't help but notice the serene look on her face, how peaceful and happy she looked. _Is she at peace because she's with me?_ he wondered. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head and mentally slapped himself. _Stop thinking like that. You know your rule and why you can't break it. It doesn't matter if you have feelings for her. _His eyes widened in realization. _I have feelings for her! No no no, this is _not_ good! This wasn't supposed to happen!_ The only thing keeping him from running out of the room was because he didn't want to disturb her sleep, but he didn't know how much longer he could stay there knowing he had feelings for her. The whole point of his rule was so that he couldn't get feelings for someone, and now the very thing he swore _not _to do happened.

"Good morning, Aang," Katara's yawn snapped him out of his thoughts.

He chuckled nervously as she looked at him dead in the eyes, not seeming to understand where she was. "Good Morning, Katara. It seems like you were pretty comfortable there," he teased her despite being just as guilty for not rolling her off of him.

She didn't understand him for a moment until she realized where exactly she was. "Oh," she blushed heavily. "I'm sorry, I don't know how I managed this, but-"

"It's fine," he waved her off without moving much. "I'm sure you did that to your brother all of the time as a kid."

"Um, not really actually," she admitted with another blush. "I've never done that with anyone else before."

His heart started pounding rapidly against his will. "Oh," he replied shortly, not really knowing what else to say. Neither one of them said anything, just staring into each others' eyes and enjoying the feeling of being so close to each other. _What am I supposed to do?_ Aang thought worriedly. _The whole point of that rule was so that I didn't have anything that could cloud my judgement. Now I have feelings for a girl I just met _yesterday...

"So," Katara started awkwardly as she stayed where she was, "How long have we been like this? Hopefully I haven't been crushing you too long."

He laughed a little and smiled at her. "No, don't worry. You haven't been crushing me at all. I don't really know how long you've been on top of me, but I can only assume at least a few minutes," he assured her.

"Good," she sighed in relief as she stared deeply into his eyes with a smile. After a few more moments, she remembered their situation again and reluctantly rolled off of him, much to both his relief and displeasure. "Well, I guess we should get ready for training," she said slowly.

Aang looked at the time and saw that it was only six o'clock. "No, we don't have to yet," he told her. "We still have another hour or so. How about we take this time to get to know each other a little more?"

Katara smiled widely and rolled over on her side to face him with a hand propped against her face. "Okay, sounds good to me." She twirled her hair between her fingers while she got lost in his stormy depths. "So what do you want to know about me?"

"Well," he started thoughtfully, "I guess just tell me anything you want to tell me about yourself. Help me to know who you really are. What you like, your favorite memories, your favorite hobbies. You know, what makes you, you."

She took a moment to think about it. "I guess I should start with a little bit about myself. Obviously you already know my name is Katara. My family was originally from the South Pole, but we came here when my dad got an offer to be the chief of police here." Aang burst out laughing for a few moments. "What's so funny?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

He finally settled down after a few more moments and smiled at her. "I'm sorry, it's just that I think your dad was the one chasing me down yesterday. Is his name by chance Hakoda?"

"Yep, that's him," she chuckled. "Sorry about that."

Aang just waved her off. "It's fine. He's just doing his job, and I respect that he cares so much about it that he's willing to chase me down for half an hour." He paused to snicker a little. "I honestly feel a little bad now that I did that to him."

Katara just grinned and rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sure he's fine," she shrugged. "IF he knew who you were, then he would probably leave you alone."

"Why would he leave me alone if he knew who I was?" he wondered. "Either way, I'm technically breaking the law and killing elected government officials. Even if it's for a good cause, he still has the legal right to hunt me down and put me away."

"He probably wouldn't hunt you down if he knew that you were the one who saved me," Katara explained. "I told him all about you after you brought me back to them."

A puzzled look crossed his face. "You did?" She blushed in embarrassment but nodded. "Well what did you say about me?"

"Oh you know," Katara tried putting it off. He gave her a look and she surrendered with a sigh. "I just said that you were really brave and sweet and kind and awesome and-" she cut herself off as she found that if she kept going she would just embarrass herself more. "Yeah…"

He blushed a little. "Well thanks. It's nice to know that _someone_ thinks that I'm awesome. Not a lot of people do in this city."

"Really?" she asked in surprise. Reaching out to take his hand, she rubbed his knuckles with her fingers gently. "Why would anyone think you're _not_? I mean, you risk your life everyday to protect people, you sacrifice your free time and your personal life for others. You even take out corrupt mayors that could easily land you in jail for the rest of your life if you were ever caught. How could anyone _not_ think you're awesome?" she wondered aloud.

"The press tends to paint me as the bad guy," he explained. "Their articles take things out of context and make it look like I'm a monster, but not everyone believes it. Usually the ones who I rescue are the ones who know that I'm not a monster, but every once in a while I'll find someone running away from me because they think I'm going to kill them."

Katara couldn't believe it. Aang did so much for the city. Sacrificing his personal life and time to do whatever it takes to give them their personal freedoms, and the press were making him seem like a monster. It just wasn't right. "Well have you ever considered talking to them and explaining that you're _not_ a bad guy?"

He shook his head. "I don't even bother thinking about it. The way things are in this city, all of the corrupt and rich people have the press under their thumb, so there's no point in it unless I want them to write worse things about me."

"But doesn't that ever bug you?" she wondered.

Aang shrugged slightly, "Not really. You get used to it after a while. It's just what comes with the job. The people who you save and protect will see that you're not evil, but everyone else will think you're a monster. That's just how it is, and likely how it always will be."

Katara frowned, "So why do you do it, then? What's the point of protecting a city that's just going to think you're a monster no matter what you do?"

"I don't do this because I care about what people think of me," he reminded her. "I do this because I've seen how people suffer because the rich and powerful walk all over them. Even if they fear me or want to hurt me, I won't turn my back on them when I know I can do something to help them since they can't help themselves." He looked down at her hand rubbing his and smiled a little. "But it's worth it when I meet people like you."

"Really?" she asked with a smile.

Aang smiled back. "Of course. There aren't many people like you in this world, Katara. Selfless, dedicated, strong, courageous. Willing to jump into the fray for the sake of others. It's a rare thing to find these days." He intertwined his fingers with hers. "I'm really glad you're here."

She had to hold herself back from kissing him, so instead she hugged him tightly, making him chuckle a little but hugged her back. "I'm really glad I'm here too, Aang," she mumbled into his shoulder. He just smiled again and held her closer, enjoying the feeling of her in his arms. _Maybe having feelings isn't such a bad thing after all…_ he thought with a content sigh.

After a few minutes of just holding each other, he looked at the time and notice that it was now six fifty-five. He reluctantly pulled away from her, prompting her to pout a little and got up from the bed. "Well, I guess we should go get ready for training. I'm excited to see how you and your brother do on your first day."

"Yeah, I'm excited to see how we do, too," she agreed. "I think that we'll need some work, but we'll get there eventually."

"Of course," he grinned. "It's not like I was born knowing how to fight. I was raised from birth to know how to protect myself." He gave her one last smile. "I'll see you in training, Katara."

"Bye, Aang!" she called as he finally walked out the door. Once she was sure he was gone, she let out a happy sigh and fell back onto her pillows. "I think today's going to be a good day."

* * *

The rest of the group waited patiently for Sokka to come. He was of course late, despite having had everyone knock on his door to get him to come. Aang tapped his foot on the ground in thought. _If this becomes a problem, then I may have to use my cold water threat to get him to come on time_, he mused. A minute later, Sokka came bursting through the door with messy hair and his shirt on backwards. "I'm here!" he yelled tiredly.

Katara snickered, "Sokka, you might want to do something about your hair."

He became puzzled. "What do you mean?" She pointed to a mirror and he walked over and took a look. "What the-" His hair was half up like he spiked it with gel and the other half was all over the place. Shaking his head at himself, he grabbed a ponytail holder and brought it back to his normal hair. "There we go. Not bad good-looking," he smirked in the mirror and flexed some muscles to himself.

"Really Sokka?" Katara drawled sarcastically. "You're going to do this in front of _everyone_?"

Sokka seemed to realize what he was doing and blushed in embarrassment before running back to the line that they were all standing in front of Aang. "Alright," Aang started with a laugh. "That was one of my more… _interesting_ starts to training, but let's get this started." He looked at Sokka, "Oh real quick, I should mention that I have this policy about being here on time. If you're not on time, then I go into your room and dump freezing cold water on you until you learn to come in on time."

"Really?" he asked in disbelief. He turned to look at Suki and Teo who nodded and gulped, knowing that this was going to be a problem. "Isn't that a little cruel?"

Aang laughed and shook his head. "No. It's unpleasant the first couple of times, but the sooner that you learn to come in on time, the sooner you don't have to worry about getting freezing cold water dumped on you. I know it won't be easy, which is why I'm allowing you a day grace period, but after that I won't hesitate to do it. Okay?" Sokka nodded solemnly and was silent. "Alright, let's begin. Suki and Teo, I want you guys to be the demonstrators while I show them what every move does and how it works with the others. Is that alright?"

"Of course," Suki smiled as Teo groaned.

"Do I have to? Why can't you do it?" Teo asked with pleading eyes.

"Because I'm the one who has to explain everything to them and it's a lot harder to explain when I'm currently fighting," Aang chuckled. "You'll be fine, Teo. Have some confidence in yourself."

"Easy for you to say," Teo rolled his eyes. "You're the oh so great Stormborn. Master of all elements and the deadliest weapon in the city, if not the world. I'm just Teo, the nerd and gadget guy."

Aang frowned and walked up to him with a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't _ever_ think like that Teo. That's not who you are. Sure you like to invent stuff, but you're an amazing guy who I know is more than capable of doing this. If I didn't think you had what it takes to do this, I wouldn't have you here right now. I know that you can do this, just like I know that you're my best friend. Okay?"

Teo couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "Alright, if you say so."

"Now," Aang started as he looked to Katara and Sokka, "Before we do this, we always start with some stretches, so go ahead and copy them. They know what to do." They nodded in agreement and kept their eyes on the two people in front of them. As they went through their stretches, Aang wondered how it had gotten to this point. If you had told him two days ago that he would meet a girl who would later join his team and would unintentionally make him having feelings for her, he would laugh in their face. Now here he was, struggling with what to do about it. Of course he would love to go out with Katara, but he didn't know if she felt the same, and even if she did it might not be a good idea to go out with her anyway. Doing that could lead to getting deeper feelings that could only make the situation worse, but another part of him really wanted to try being with her. He had never had a girlfriend before, and he had always been curious what it would be like to have one. _Now's not exactly the time to be thinking about this,_ he chided himself.

"Hey Aang!"

His attention snapped up to see Suki calling to him. "Yeah, Suki?"

"Do you think you could check to make sure I'm doing my stretches right?" she batted her eyes at him. "It doesn't feel like I'm doing it right."

"I can do that!" Sokka volunteered eagerly. He walked quickly over behind Suki and watched her from behind.

Suki rolled her eyes and started doing her stretches again. "Gee, thanks," she muttered.

Aang laughed a little at their exchange and looked over to Katara who was looking at him. They both blushed heavily and looked away, but not without sneaking peeks at each other here and there. Once they were finished with their stretches, Aang called them over to the equipment. "So as you guys can see, this is our workout equipment. It helps keep us in shape for when we're on missions or being hunted down by bounty hunters. I usually have us use them for a while before we fight, but since it's your first day we'll take it easy on you," he told them, much to Sokka's relief. "Now come on, I think it's time for a little show." They all walked out into the sparring area where Teo and Suki got into position while Aang, Sokka, and Katara stood close to them for the lesson. "Alright. So to begin, we're going to go over the basics of combat, which is that no matter what, make sure you have a good defense. Knowing how to attack is all well and good, but you can only fight if you're still alive, so make sure you know how to defend yourself as we'll teach you." He nodded to Teo how put his hands up in a defensive position. "Begin."

Suki didn't hesitate. She attempted to sweep Teo off his feet, but he just jumped over it and got back into his position. A left jab tried to connect to Teo's face, but he just blocked it with his arm and kept his position. "Okay, pause for a second guys." They stopped and relaxed their stances. He turned his attention to the twins. "So as you guys could see, because Teo held his ground and watched her movements, he was able to deflect her attacks and did not get hurt. Now, would either of you like to try it against Suki?"

Neither of them said anything until Sokka shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's not like she's going to beat me. I was the best warrior in my village back when we lived in the South Pole," he bragged.

"Well show me what you got then, Mr. Ponytail," Suki taunted as she got back in her stance.

He smirked, "This'll be too easy." He mimicked Teo's stance and nodded that he was ready. Suki repeated the sweeping move and knocked him off of his feet, leaving a flustered Sokka on the ground. "Hey!" he whined. "I wasn't ready!"

Suki smirked in return and shook her head. "It doesn't matter if you were ready or not, Sokka. You're not going to get a do-over out there in the field just because 'you weren't ready'."

Aang nodded in agreement. "She's right. Bounty Hunters are merciless. They will do whatever it takes to collect their prize and will not let something like that deter them from collecting their reward."

"Stupid girls, think they're so great. I'll show them," Sokka grumbled to himself as he got back up and into his defensive position.

"What was that?" Suki asked threateningly.

"Nothing!" he squealed, making everyone in the room but him laugh.

Suki finally stopped and laughing and grinned, "Whatever you say, Sokka. Just because you're new doesn't mean I'm going to take it easy on you."

"You just caught me by surprise!" Sokka argued. "There's no way I could be beat by a girl."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? You're _that_ kind of guy, huh?" She walked over to him and faked a jab to his gut which he attempted to block with both hands, leaving his face open for an attack. Using her other fist, she punched him across his cheek and sent him to the ground. "Can't be beat by a girl, huh? Best warrior in your village, huh?"

"Okay, Suki," Aang's tone became serious. "I can tell where this is going, so I've got to stop you before you break his bones." She sighed in disappointment but nodded and took a step back. "You okay there, Sokka?"

Katara walked over to him and took a look. "He's fine. His pride is badly damaged though, so I don't know if he'll make it," she joked, making everyone chuckle.

"Shut up, Katara!" Sokka hissed as held his face in his hand.

"Stop being such a baby, Sokka!" Katara retorted. "It was one little punch, get over yourself." Sokka got back up and went over to the group.

Aang shrugged, "Okay, I guess that's enough for Sokka for now. We'll have to work on that later." He turned to Katara. "Now how about you try it against Teo? That way he can get some offensive training and you work on your defense."

"Okay," she smiled. He nodded and she and Teo got into their stances.

"Whenever you guys are ready," Aang said. Katara nodded to Teo who started his attack. Teo tried for a right hook, but was blocked by Katara. He kicked at her, but she just took a step back and blocked it with her crossed arms. "Impressive, Katara. You got it down faster than Suki did," he told her, making her smile and Suki glare at her. Teo tried to sweep her off the ground, but she mimicked what he had done earlier and landed in a solid stance. "Good job, Katara," Aang complimented her. "That was really good for a first day." Katara smiled happily and nodded her thanks. "Now, we'll continue your guys' training everyday, but for now I'd like to work on Teo's."

Teo groaned a little. "Do I have to?"

"Yes you do," Aang told him sternly. "The more training you get, the more you'll be able to defend yourself in case we ever get attacked. We've been over this, buddy." Teo groaned again but nodded and got into a stance. "Now, like I promised last night, you're going to fight both Katara and Suki and see how well you do. Remember: No pulling hair, biting, or anything like that. When you're ready, begin." Teo took a deep breath and nodded his approval to start. Suki swung at him from her right while Katara aimed a blow at his rib cage. He ducked from Suki's attack and rolled on the ground to dodge Katara's. "Good job, Teo! Keep it up!" Teo's confidence boosted at Aang's praise and he put more effort into it. As Suki kicked at him, he grabbed her leg and flipped her over, making her land on the ground.

Suki grinned at him as she got up. "Gotta hand it to you, Teo. That was pretty good," she congratulated him. "But now I'm not going to take it easy on you."

Teo gulped and looked to Aang who gave him a reassuring smile. "You're on," he said confidently, catching Suki by surprise. She shrugged and took another swing at him, but he grabbed it and twisted her arm behind her.

"Um Katara? A little help, please?" Suki begged her. Katara laughed and kicked at Teo from behind, making him lose his grip on Suki and turning around to face his opponents. Feeling refreshed from his newfound confidence, he took the offensive, aiming a blow at Suki's gut with one fist while kicking out at Katara with one foot. Suki managed to block the blow while Katara hadn't expected him to try kicking her and received it to her leg, making her crumple to the ground in pain.

"Katara!" Aang called worriedly. He ran over to her and knelt next to her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need some medicine? Do you-"

She cut him off with a finger to his lips. "I'm fine, Aang," she assured him with a smile. "Just give me a moment and we can get back to training."

He shook his head. "No, I think we're done for today. First Sokka gets punched and now you getting kicked in the leg, I think that's more than enough for a first day." He offered a hand to her which she took with a smile that brought them face to face. They got lost in each other's eyes for a few moments before Sokka cleared his throat.

"Um hello?" Sokka drawled in annoyance. "Earth to Katara. Anybody in there?" he asked as he walked up and knocked on her head.

Katara glared at him. "Shut up, Sokka!"

Aang got between them. "Okay guys, let's just settle down. I get the sibling rivalry thing is something you guys are used to, but if you're going to work out in the field together you need to learn how to work together. Otherwise you'll likely end up getting each other killed."

Katara and Sokka looked at each other and nodded with a sigh. "Okay, we'll try to play nice," Sokka agreed reluctantly.

"Good," Aang grinned. "Now how about we all go get some breakfast?" Everyone nodded in agreement and walked out, leaving him wondering how he was going to deal with them and their little fights.

* * *

A cool breeze ran over his scalp as he waited. He hadn't taken a contract in a long time, but this one promised to pay very well, and he could not refuse. What would this mission be? Hunt down someone who had wronged the client? Track down and steal a shipment from the government? Maybe even take on an army as a distraction? The man supposed he would have to wait to find out. It would be nice to get back in the game for once. Regular life was rather boring, but ever since having a kid, it was absolutely worth it to see his daughter grow up. Even if he didn't speak much to anybody. He used to be known for not speaking at all, but having a wife and child made that impossible.

"So you're ready for another mission, are you?" a voice behind him asked.

He turned around and looked at his old boss. "Yes," he said simply.

"Good," Zuko smiled. He walked up to him and handed him a file. "This is all the information you will need to know."

He opened it up and took a look, raising an eyebrow at the prince. "What is a 'Stormborn'?" he questioned.

"I don't know for sure," Zuko admitted with a shrug. "What I do know is that he could help me with something that I need done. I need you to track him down."

"To kill him?"

Zuko shook his head quickly. "No, no. That's not what I'm asking you to do. First I need you to look around and get what information you can on him. Once you've got an idea on how to get in contact with him, return to me and we'll come up with a plan so that I may speak with him. He is essential in my plan and I need to get in contact with him to get that started. As soon as you have a way to get in contact with him, let me know."

He nodded, "Understood. It'll be nice working for you again, boss. Even if it's only for one day."

Zuko laughed a little, "It's nice having you work for me again. Though I gotta say, it's kind of weird hearing your voice. I'm still used to you not speaking at all."

"Don't get used to it," he told him. "I only speak when necessary now, and this is barely an exception."

"If you say so," Zuko chuckled. He walked up to him and gave him a bag full of money. "Here, your first payment. Once you've completed the mission, you'll receive the other half, as usual. Do you accept?" He nodded in response. "Good. Once you've found a way for me to get in contact with this 'Stormborn' let me know."

He sarcastically saluted, "Yes sir."

Zuko rolled his eyes and saluted him back. "Dismissed!" The man started walking away when Zuko called out to him, "And remember! No deaths! I don't need to be making an enemy of this guy!" He just nodded in response and jumped off the roof, quickly falling onto the ground and cracking the asphalt. _So, I need to find a man named 'Stormborn'. Maybe the locals can tell me something._ Walking up towards a local bar, he noticed a few people who appeared to be celebrating.

"To Stormborn!" one shouted loudly, clearly already drunk. "For saving our asses from being tested on by that stupid fucking Mayor who kidnapped us. Cheers!" The people around him responded with cheers and took a long drink of their beer.

_Perfect,_ he thought. Making his way over to them, he walked over to their table and towered over them behind the man who had made the toast. "Hello," he tried speaking to them in his best friendly voice.

"Hey there big guy!" the man greeted him. "Are you here to celebrate?" He nodded in response. "Great! Here, have a beer and tell us your story!"

He raised an eyebrow. "My… story?" he asked in confusion.

"Yeah! Your story of how Stormborn broke us out of that damned warehouse!" he explained with a wide smile.

Understanding flooded over him. Fortunately for him, he was a well-practiced liar. "He saved me at that warehouse that he flooded later," he told them while remembering details from the file he had seen earlier. "He got me out and we all got out of there."

The leader of their group whooped. "That's right! Now we're free again, and it's all thanks to Stormborn!" He raised a glass in the air. "To Stormborn!"

"To Stormborn!" everyone else repeated and took a drink. He followed their lead and chugged down his pint.

"Wow, that's impressive," the man said in admiration. "You must drink a lot."

"I used to," he admitted. "I slowed down ever since I had a kid."

The man gasped. "You have a kid? With your size, I can only imagine the kid is a giant, too."

He chuckled a little, "No, he's average size. At least for now," he joked, making everyone at the table laugh. Shaking his head, he quickly got back to business. "So, how would one get in contact with this 'Stormborn' if he really wanted to?"

"Why do you want to know?" the other man asked curiously.

"I just want to thank him in person," he lied.

The man smiled widely. "That's a great idea! Hmmm," he pondered the idea. "Well, he only seems to come out when there's a commotion, so if you can make a distraction then he will likely come out to solve it."

He thought it over. "You're right. Well, I should get going. Thank you for the beer and the advice," he bowed to them before walking out.

"Tell Stormborn we said hi!" he called out as he walked out the door.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. _Now how am I going to draw him out…_

* * *

"Time to get up, Sokka!" Katara called from outside his door.

"No!" he refused. "I'm sleeping until I get up and that's final"

Katara turned to Aang. "Could I do the honors?"

He smiled. "Of course. Be my guest. Just don't make it too cold. We still need him alive for now," he joked.

She smiled back, "Of course, I'll play nice. I promise." He nodded and opened the door for her. They both walked in and walked up to a snoozing Sokka. "Sokka, this is your last chance," she warned him sweetly.

"I'm not getting up!" he grumbled into his pillow.

Aang sighed a little, "Alright, we tried warning you." He walked into Sokka's bathroom and turned the water as cold as possible. "My lady?" he bowed to her.

"Why thank you, good sir," she smiled. Taking a large amount of water from it, she brought it over and placed it over Sokka who's eyes widened.

"Wait! I'll get up! I'm getting up!" he said desperately.

Aang snickered, "Sorry Sokka, it's too late now!" He looked to Katara. "Do it."

"With pleasure," she smirked and let the water go on him.

Sokka bolted upright, completely cold from the freezing water that had just been dropped on him. "Cold!" he yelled. He got up from the bed and ran around, trying his best to warm up. "Katara! I'm up! Please take the water off of me!"

She pretended to think about it for a moment. "I don't know, Sokka…" she trailed off teasingly.

"Please!" he begged, still shivering badly.

She looked to Aang. "What do you think? Should we be nice?"

He nodded with a grin, "Yeah, he's had enough torture for now. We'll be nice." She nodded and pulled the water off of Sokka, much to his relief.

"Thank you," he told them gratefully.

"No problem," Aang laughed and patted him on the back. "I know it won't be easy getting up early, but this is the best method to get you used to it, so this is what we'll do. I'm sorry that you have to have freezing water on you."

Sokka shrugged, "I understand, it just sucks." He paused for a moment. "Can we at least get some breakfast before we go do some training? I'm starving."

Katara rolled her eyes, "Sokka, you're always starving!"

"And?" he shrugged as he put on a shirt. "What's your point here?"

"Sorry Sokka," Aang cut in before another argument could arise. "We don't eat breakfast until after training. Trust me, I've learned from experience it's best to train first then eat." Sokka looked like he wanted to argue, but he knew better. "Okay then. How about we go do our training and then we'll get something to eat?" Sokka nodded eagerly and they all laughed and walked out to the training room. "So how did you sleep last night?" Aang asked Katara.

"Fine, I guess," she shrugged. "Though I was a lot more comfortable with you there," she admitted with a blush.

He blushed as well. "Heh, yeah. It was pretty nice having someone to hold at night. I haven't done that in years."

Katara became confused. "Did you used to have a girlfriend or something?" she asked hoping not to hear the answer she dreaded.

"No," he shook his head, much to her relief. "I used to snuggle with my parents when I was a kid. I haven't done that since... " he trailed off sadly.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, there's just some memories that you wish that you could erase, but you can't." He shook his head. "That was a long time ago, so I try not to think about it." She wanted to question him further, but they had arrived at the training room before she could. "Alright everybody!" he called as they walked in. "It's time for some training! Do your stretches while I check on the news and we'll get started!" They all nodded as he walked over to the tv and turned it on, flipping it until he reached the news.

"Breaking News!" the news anchor said. "A violent man has gone on a rampage and is currently destroying an old factory down in South New Ozai. He is thought to be six five with a wide build and a fake eye on his forehead. He appears to have the power to make things blow up with his mind! That's a new one, am I right?"

Aang gasped. "Time to go." He turned back to them. "There's an emergency guys! Suki! You'll have to teach them today! Go over more defensive tactics and I'll do some offensive tomorrow!"

"Wait, let me come with you!" Katara yelled. "I want to help!"

He shook his head while running out to grab his jacket and his sneakers. "Sorry Katara! You're too new to the game for this! I'll be fine, don't worry!" He put them on along with his hood and started walking to the elevator when Katara ran up to him.

"Please," she begged with sad eyes. "Be careful." He nodded and squeezed her hand reassuringly before going up in the elevator. Once he was out in the sunlight, he saw large explosions coming from the South, much to his displeasure.

"This should be fun," he muttered sarcastically to himself. Aang pressed a button on his jacket sleeve which brought out two metallic wings. "Time to go." He launched himself into the sky and took off towards the loud explosion. After a few minutes of flying, he circled above the building and saw a large man moving around and shooting blasts out of his forehead. "Holy shit! They weren't kidding about him blowing stuff up with his mind!" He flew down and landed silently behind the tower of a man. The man appeared to be too distracted to notice him, so he snuck up behind him and prepared to take his life when the man turned around.

"Ah, Mr. 'Stormborn' I presume?" the man asked in a deep voice.

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you?" he asked without taking his blade away.

"No, you don't know me, but my boss knows you," he admitted. "Or at least of you. He wants to speak with you."

"If your boss wants to speak with me, then why are you blowing up this building?" he asked suspiciously.

He shrugged without remorse. "There's no one in the building," he pointed out. "It was abandoned long ago. I just needed something to draw you out."

Aang didn't want to admit it, but he had a point. He finally put away the blade and stood up straight. "Okay then. What does your boss want to talk to me about?"

"I don't know," he told him honestly. "My job was just to get him in contact with you." He handed him a phone from his pocket. "Here, this phone is untraceable and will be used to establish communication between you and my boss. All he wants to do is talk, so please just hear him out."

Aang was reluctant. "How do I know that I can trust either of you?" he asked seriously.

"If my employer wanted you dead, he would have had me try to kill you by now," he pointed out again. "He just wants to talk and see if you can't work out a deal. His number is the only one on that phone, so if you decide to talk to him, call it and he'll pick up. Goodbye." And he walked away without another word, leaving Aang to his thoughts.

Aang didn't know what to do at the moment. He was still surprised he hadn't even had to fight the guy, but he shrugged it off and laughed, "Well, at least it was an easy mission." Sirens could be heard from behind him. "Time to go." He got his wings out again and took off into the sky and kept going until he landed in an old abandoned parking garage. Looking around to make sure there were no cameras, he walked over to a corner of the level and sat down and dialed the number entitled, 'Boss'. A few rings later, the phone picked up. "Hello?"

"Who are you and what do you want?" Aang questioned seriously.

"Now is not the time or place to answer those questions," the voice told him.

"Well I'm not doing anything unless I at least know who I'm speaking to," Aang refused stubbornly.

The other line was silent for a moment. "Fine. I'm… Zuko Agni," he admitted reluctantly.

Aang's eyes widened before becoming angry. "Give me one reason I shouldn't hang up and destroy this phone right now!" he demanded.

"Don't do that! Please!" Zuko begged. "I know that my family has done a lot of horrible things, but I have a plan to rid this city of my father's corruption. Please, just hear me out."

"How do I know that you're not just trying to kill me on your father's behalf?" Aang questioned him icily. "I know firsthand just how cruel and untrustworthy an Agni can be, so you better have a good reason for getting me to agree to help you."

He could hear the frown in his voice, "I'm not trying to kill you. If I was, I would have had the man who delivered that phone to you kill you instead. I'm not your enemy." He took a deep breath. "Look, I know you don't trust me, but please just meet me at Iroh's Cafe tomorrow night at seven o'clock and I'll explain everything. Please."

Aang was reluctant, but if nothing else this could result in taking a piece off the board if Zuko was lying to him. "Fine, but if I find out that you are trying to kill me, I will not hesitate to take your life. Got it?" he asked menacingly.

"Got it," Zuko sighed in relief. "I'll see you tomorrow at seven. Goodbye." Aang hung up the phone and shook his head at himself. "What am I getting myself into…"


	5. Chapter 5: The Meeting

Chapter 5: The Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

Aang couldn't help but be lost in his thoughts as he watched his teammates train. So much had been going on over the last few days, he didn't even know where to begin sorting through his mind of everything that was currently cluttering it. First he rescued a girl from a warehouse and found out that benders are being kidnapped for an unknown reason, then that same girl and her brother join his team and he found out he has feelings for her despite swearing off romantic feelings while on the job, and to top it all off: he had a meeting with the son of his greatest enemy that night. It was beginning to really get to him, but he had more important things to worry about than that. He still needed to find out more information on what exactly Ozai was planning and why he was kidnapping innocent benders. Not to mention what these 'tests' were for. Maybe if this 'Zuko' proved to be a friend, then maybe he could help provide him with answers. There was a lot to take care of, but he would grin and bear it gladly if it meant that he could help others. What he didn't mention to Katara about one of the reasons he did what he did was because he took great pride in knowing he helped others, even if people rarely thanked him for his efforts. But as he had told her, he wasn't in it for the praise, he was in it for helping people who couldn't help themselves, and that would always be more than enough to continue his efforts to fight for them. "Aang!" He looked up to see a smiling Katara holding Sokka in a headlock. "Look! I got Sokka!"

He smiled and gave her a thumbs up, "Good job, Kat! You're getting it down fast!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sokka grumbled as he struggled to get out of her grip. "Now can you let me go, please? I'd like to breathe if you don't mind."

She thought about it for a moment. "I'll make a deal with you," she offered with a devious grin on her face. "If you agree to go apologize to Suki about what you said two days ago, then I'll let you go."

Sokka didn't put up any arguments. "Sounds good to me. I was going to do that anyway," he admitted, taking Katara by surprise.

"Really?" she gasped. He nodded. "Who are you and what have you done with my sexist pig of a brother?" she questioned jokingly.

He just rolled his eyes as she let him go. "Hey, it's not like I'm _trying_ to be a jerk. I didn't mean to be rude about it, but I grew up thinking that men do some things while women do the others. Stormborn- I mean Aang here convinced me that I was wrong."

Katara's jaw dropped as she looked at Aang in disbelief. "Really?" she repeated in complete surprise with a look of awe on her face.

"Yeah," Aang laughed with a shrug as he took a sip of water. "I've been raised since I was little to know that men and women are equal, so with Sokka saying stuff like that, I couldn't just stand by and let him continue thinking that without putting my two cents in."

"And," Sokka added, "It doesn't hurt that Suki beat me pretty bad that first day of training. That was a pretty rude awakening, but it was necessary and helped me see that girls can be just as good as guys are at fighting and stuff."

She had no words. Never in her life would she have imagined hearing her brother say anything so… un-Sokka like come out of his mouth, yet here he was, sounding like an adult. Or at least a proper adult, anyway. "Wow Sokka, I'm impressed. Good for you," she congratulated him with a quick hug, making him chuckle a little.

"Thanks sis," he grinned and hugged her back. "But I'm not the one you should thank. That would be Suki and Aang. Mostly Aang though, he was the main reason I decided to get over the whole 'guys do this and girls do this' way of thinking."

Katara turned to Aang with a wide smile, "Well then, I guess I have you to thank." She dove into his arms, making him smile as she inhaled his scent, feeling intoxicated at how much it seemed to fit him. It was like a breath of fresh air, making her feel a little light-headed and yet made her feel refreshed at the same time. There was something about being in his presence that made her so happy, so… free, like the air he bent. Being in his arms never ceased to make her feel safe, and she took every chance she could to feel the warmth he gave, especially if that would convince him to abandon his 'no dating' rule. "Thank you," she mumbled into his shoulder as she held onto him tightly.

"No problem," he mumbled back as he stroked her hair, making her sigh in contentment as she dug her face in his chest. Neither one spoke a word, too afraid of ruining the moment to chance saying anything. Unfortunately for them, Sokka was more than happy to ruin it for them.

"Are you guys done yet?" he drawled sarcastically. "You've been hugging for like five minutes and I'm just sitting here watching you like I'm being forced to watch a chick flick." Katara gave him a death glare without breaking from the hug, making him gulp nervously. "Okay, I'm sorry!" he squealed a little.

Aang just laughed and let Katara go, making her whine a little at losing his warmth. "Sorry Sokka. We'll try to not hug for so long. Right Katara?" he asked as he turned to her.

"I make no promises," she refused adamantly, making Aang blush at her honesty. Sokka groaned and rolled his eyes, but gave up and turned back to his training. Katara looked back to Aang with a smile. "I would say sorry, but I would be lying. There's no way I'm giving up hugging you, no matter how much Sokka whines about it."

"Of course," Aang chuckled as he leaned back against the wall. "Honesty is key to having a good team, so feel free to be honest with everyone. Though my one rule on that is if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. If you have a problem with someone else, come to me and we'll get it sorted out. I've had so many problems between Suki and Teo that I could be an official mediator if I wasn't a vigilante. Can you do that for me?"

"Duh," she laughed as she stared into his eyes. "I think I can handle something as easy as that. Lord knows I'd do anything for you," she thought aloud, making them both blush in perfect sync.

Aang rubbed his neck nervously as he looked down at his feet. "Um… thanks," he said quietly, freaking out a little on the inside. _Does she have feelings for me?_ He wondered. _Or does she just think of me as a really great friend that she would do anything for? _He internally kicked himself. _Stop worrying about that. You need to get rid of your feelings for her anyway, otherwise the city could be put at risk because you might make a bad decision. _The thought of letting go of his feelings for her made him frown, prompting Katara to look at him with concern.

"Are you okay, Aang?" she asked worriedly while walking closer to him. "You don't look too happy. Is everything alright? Do you want me to get you some headache medicine?"

He smiled sadly and shook his head, prompting her to be more worried. "I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind lately and it's all sort of catching up to me," he admitted reluctantly.

Katara gave him a hug, making his heart pound against his will as she nuzzled into him again. "Well you know what they say about people who have a lot of stress. Sometimes you just need a hug to get it all out." She pulled back a little to look him in the eyes. "I'll be here for you if you ever need a hug or just need to vent a little. I've found it helps a lot to have someone to help you work out your issues. Even if they can't solve your issues, it feels great to get them off your chest."

His eyes lit up a little and took her hand in his own, interlocking their fingers softly. "Thanks Kat. That means a lot to me to know that I've got someone who's willing to be there for me." He laughed a little as he felt himself drowning in the oceans that she called eyes. "I never thought I would find someone who I could connect with this deeply before," he admitted without tearing his eyes away from hers. "It almost seems too good to be true."

"What seems too good to be true?" she asked, wanting badly to hear what she hoped the conversation was going.

"Meeting a girl like you," he told her with a gentle smile. "Being here and making a difference with good friends who want to help others as I do. Even if I might not ever get to have a normal life, I wouldn't trade this for anything. Especially if it meant that I never got to meet you," he whispered the last part, making her heart pound furiously in her chest. She took a chance and started leaning in as he did the same, getting within inches before Suki stepped in between them.

"Hey Aang, can you come check on me and Teo to see how we're doing?" she asked sweetly, barely concealing the burning jealousy in her eyes.

Aang cleared his throat and nodded. "Of course. I'll be right behind you." Suki smiled and winked at him, walking away slowly as Aang turned back to Katara. "Sorry, looks like I'm needed. I'll come back in a few minutes and check on you and your brother." He took her hand and kissed it softly before letting it go and walking over to Suki, leaving a blushing Katara with a huge smile on her face. Sokka walked up to her while she was frozen in her happy daze.

"Earth to Katara," Sokka waved a hand in her face. An evil idea formed in his mind, one that was sure to bite him in the butt later, but would still be worth it. He walked behind her and pretended to see Aang walk up to him. "Oh, hey Aang. Did you notice how you left my sister frozen in place with just a kiss on her hand? Yeah, she's madly in love with you. Imagine what you could do if you kissed her on the lips," he spoke loudly behind Katara.

Katara finally snapped out of her thoughts and turned around quickly, fearing the worst but became angry when she saw her brother enjoying her discomfort. "Sokka! I'm going to kill you one of these days!" she threatened with a flick on his forehead.

Sokka rubbed his forehead grumpily. "Well don't get frozen in place when the guy kisses your hand. What's going on with you? You've never let yourself get this worked up over a guy before."

She didn't say anything for a moment. "I don't really know," she admitted. "There's just something about him. He's brave and strong, yet sweet and gentle. His looks definitely don't hurt anything. And he's so charming and honest. Aang doesn't put up a fake appearance to get others to do what he wants. Everything about him is who he actually is, and I like who he is very much. I've never met a guy like him before, so that's probably why I'm acting like a lovestruck girl."

"Okay then," Sokka laughed. "Well how about we get back to training so no one gets suspicious as to what we're talking about?" Katara nodded and they resumed their stances. Sokka tried to swing at Katara, but she ducked and kicked at him. He managed to block the attack and sent her back a few feet before grinning proudly. "Ha! You're not going to get me this time!"

Katara grinned back, "We'll see!" Taking a moment to collect herself, she lunged at him with a fist to the face and switched up at the last second, surprising Sokka with a back kick to his rear as she moved behind him, sending him to the ground face first. "What was that Sokka? Something about me not getting you? I can't quite remember," she taunted him.

"Yeah yeah," Sokka groaned as he slowly got himself back up off of the floor. "You caught me by surprise is all. If I had been expecting that I totally could have stopped you."

"That's the thing Sokka," Katara told him while getting back into her stance. "You have to expect the unexpected when you fight." She jabbed him in the stomach, making all of the air escape his lungs. "Otherwise you get the air knocked out of your lungs and be made easy prey for an enemy to kill you."

"She's right," a voice from behind her said. She turned around to see a smiling Aang looking at her. "You need to be able to defend yourself so that no one has that opportunity to disorient you. Out in the field it's kill or be killed, and I don't know about you guys, but I prefer to live." Katara and Sokka nodded. Aang smiled to Katara, "Good job, Kat. You've been picking up my lessons quickly. At this rate I'll have you training with the blades in two weeks." Katara smiled proudly while Sokka rolled his eyes.

"What about me?" Sokka asked curiously as he rubbed his wounded gut. "Do you think I'll be ready for those soon?"

Aang patted him on the back. "You've done very well Sokka, but you're learning at a slower rate than her. Unless you start to pick up the lessons faster, I would say three weeks to a month before we start training you with the blades." Sokka became disappointed. "Hey, like I said, if you can show that you're learning from the lessons well, then you can do it as soon as Katara will. I know you have it in you, Sokka. All it takes is a little hard work and dedication and you'll get it."

Hope flooded over Sokka's face. "Really?"

"You bet," Aang grinned and clapped him on his shoulder. "I'm sure that if you really put the effort into it you can catch up with your sister. Can you do that for me?" Sokka nodded with a smile. "Good. Make me proud, Sokka."

"I will! I'm going to get these down better than Katara did!" Sokka said determinedly.

Aang laughed at his enthusiasm. "I know you will Sokka," he fist bumped him. He looked at the time and saw two hours had passed. "Alright, well that wraps up lessons for the day everyone! Let's go get some breakfast!" Everyone cheered in response and walked out towards the elevator. Once everyone was in, he punched in the code and sent them up. As the doors opened, Katara and Sokka couldn't help but be amazed at the sight before them. They had already seen it twice, but it was not your ordinary kitchen. It was huge, with lots of fancy granite tables and the most comfortable looking chairs they had ever seen. Some low tables even had bean bag chairs next to them. To the left of the room was a huge kitchen with plenty of robots standing ready, waiting to make them whatever they wanted. They all took their seats and waited to put in their order. A robot came up to them instantly and quickly took their orders, rushing back to the kitchen to get it started for them.

"Don't you ever get worried that the robots might someday… fight back?" Sokka asked a little worriedly.

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. "Sokka, that only happens in movies. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

Aang nodded in agreement. "She's right. Robots don't have a will of their own. They can't override their programming and they're not a being that has a soul." He pulled out his keys and displayed a button in a case that was attached to it. "Besides, if something like that _did_ happen, all I have to do is press this button and it shuts them all down, so there's nothing to worry about."

Sokka looked unsure, but he shrugged it off. "Okay. If you say so." The food was quickly brought out to them, once again amazing Sokka and Katara at how quick the robots were. Three plates of food landed in front of Sokka, much to his delight. "I've gotta say, I'm pretty happy that we joined your guys' group," he told them as he took a big bite out of his pancakes.

"Really Sokka? You're _really_ saying that because you get as much food as you want?" Katara drawled sarcastically as she took a sip of her orange juice.

"No, that's not why I said that," Sokka responded with a mouth full of food. "I said that because I haven't had this much fun in a long time. The food just happens to be a bonus." He paused as he remembered something. "Dad! We haven't told Dad that we're okay!"

Katara's eyes widened in realization. "You're right." She turned to Aang who happened to be sitting next to her. "Is there anyway we could get in contact with him? I really don't want him to be worried about us. He's already been through so much just from losing our mother."

Aang gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course you can, Katara," he squeezed her hand, making Suki growl lowly in her throat. "We have a phone that can't be traced, so if you know his phone number you can call him whenever you want."

She tackled him in a hug, making him smile and hug her back. "Thank you," Katara whispered gratefully without letting him go. "I really appreciate it. My Dad really doesn't need to be worried about us. He's got enough on his plate as it is."

"No problem," he whispered back, resting his head on top of hers as they both smiled and enjoyed each others' presence. Suki was furious, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. No matter how much she tried, they would just keep having moments like this, and she would just have to accept that there was nothing going to happen between her and Aang. She pouted a little, but was silent until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes looked up to see Sokka standing next to her.

"Hey, could I talk to you for a minute?" he asked politely. She nodded and followed him over to a corner of the room as he turned around. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "You're sorry? What for?" she asked in confusion.

"For thinking that guys were better than girls at fighting," he explained with a sheepish smile. "I was stupid and wasn't thinking clearly. Although it hurt like hell, I'm glad that you punched me. It helped me see that girls can do anything that guys can do just as well if not better. I'm really sorry that I acted like such a jerk and I promise that it won't happen again."

She couldn't help but be impressed. This wasn't the proud and defiant Sokka she had met a couple days ago. It was a new Sokka, one who was mature, grown up. Like he had been through a traumatic experience that made him wake up from his delusions. The thought made Suki laugh a little but she gave him a warm smile. "Well apology accepted then. As long as you know I can kick your butt, then we're all good," she half-joked.

Sokka chuckled, "Yep, I know that now." He stuck a hand out to her. "Friends?" He became surprised as Suki hugged him, but did not complain as he hugged her back. The hug ended too soon and she pulled back to look him in the eyes.

"Of course," she told him with a smile. "Friends." As she looked at him, she couldn't help but realize something. He was… _cute_. That realization hit her like a ton of bricks as she stared into his eyes, not daring to look away.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Sokka waving at her. "Um, Suki?" She finally snapped out of it and looked at him. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go back and eat now? You seemed a little out of it."

"Yeah," she laughed nervously and played with her hair. "Let's go." Sokka gave her a warm smile and walked back to the table with her close behind. Once they made it back to their seats, the other three were in their own conversation.

"I still say that you should just kill the guy," Teo argued as he took a bite of his omelette. "Odds are that the guy's luring you into a trap. Why walk in without making sure that one less Agni sees the light of day?"

Aang shook his head adamantly. "Teo, I understand that you have a personal grudge against the Agnis'. Trust me, I do too, but that doesn't mean we should just kill them just because of what family they were born into. I'll give the guy a chance and we'll see what happens. If it _does_ turn out to be a trap, then I won't hesitate to take his life. Who knows? Maybe he sees what his family does and wants to help put an end to it and will help us find out how to take them down."

Teo rolled his eyes at his friend's optimism. "And what if we just walk into the Agni business center and take out Ozai?" he countered sarcastically. "Aren't you the one who said that there can't be any risks in this line of work? Well this is definitely taking a risk."

"Teo, I'll be fine if it is a trap," Aang assured him with a pat on the back. "It's not exactly like I haven't stumbled into traps before and I've always come out alive. I'll be just fine. This is a risk I have to take, and if this guy does turn out to be trying to kill me, then he won't be a problem anymore."

Katara finally spoke up, "Well if you might be going into a trap, I want to come with you." Aang gave her a look. "What? You said it yourself. I'm a natural born fighter and I can handle myself. I want to be there if you need some backup."

"No," Aang refused as politely as possible. "As much as I appreciate the offer and as well as you're doing in training, there's still a lot you have to learn before you're ready to take on a potential trap. If this _is_ a trap then it won't be easy to get out of. Especially if it's the son of the head of the family setting up the trap. I won't risk your life so needlessly when I can protect myself." Katara pouted a little, but she understood as she looked down at her food. "Hey," he cupped her cheek and made her look into his eyes. "I know that you're concerned for me, and I appreciate that, but I don't want you to get hurt. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you had gotten hurt because I let you come knowing full well you weren't ready yet," he admitted as they both blushed.

Katara was silent for a moment, getting lost in his beautiful gray eyes before she let out a little sigh. "Alright, I give up." Aang sighed in relief. "But please," she grabbed his hand in hers, "be careful. I don't want you getting hurt either."

Aang smiled sadly, "I wish I could promise that nothing will happen, but I can't. This might be a trap, but like I said before, it wouldn't be my first one. I'll do what I can to come back, but I can't be one hundred percent sure."

"Promise me, Aang!" Katara pleaded. "You need to come back. We all need you to be here." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "I need you to be here."

He was reluctant to answer her. On one hand, he knew that it wasn't a good idea to promise something that he might not be able to keep, but on the other he _really_ hated seeing the sadness that had overtaken her face. "Okay, I promise," he told her reluctantly.

She let out a big sigh of relief. "Good. That takes one less worry off of my shoulders," she smiled at him and gave him a hug which he returned happily.

"Could you guys knock it off for one second?" Sokka asked sarcastically.

Katara glared at him without leaving Aang's arms. "Shut up, Sokka! I can hug whoever I want!"

"Maybe so," Sokka conceded with a grin, "but you _sure_ seem to like hugging Aang a lot. I wonder why that is?" Katara gave him another hateful look and he didn't say another word.

Aang just looked confused as he looked between the twins. "So what if she likes hugging me? Doesn't she hug you guys too?"

Katara blushed deeply as everyone shook their heads. "Nope. She hasn't even hugged me once," Teo added with a laugh.

Confusion coursed through Aang again, but before he could do anything his new phone started ringing. "Hold on one sec guys, I gotta take this." He walked over to the bathroom and shut the door behind him before answering, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"It's me. Zuko Agni," the voice responded.

Aang rolled his eyes, "You again. What do you want?"

"Just making sure that we're still on for tonight is all. This meeting is very important to me," Zuko explained himself.

"You know, you're making this sound more and more like a trap with every word you say," Aang told him with a frown. "Just so you know, if it _is_ a trap, then I won't hesitate to kill you."

Zuko laughed a little, "Yeah, I know. You told me that yesterday and I believed you then. I promise, this isn't a trap."

Aang chuckled darkly, "Do you know how many traps I've walked into that had promises of them not being traps?" Zuko didn't answer. "Exactly. Your family has done nothing but try to kill me over the years, and all because you want a power that doesn't belong to you."

"Hey, not all of us are like that," Zuko argued. "My uncle, he's an amazing man. He outright refused to take part in the family business and runs the cafe we're going to be meeting up at. Not all Agnis' are bad people."

"I'll believe it when I see it, Zuko," Aang responded disbelievingly. "Just make sure that you don't do or say anything that might get you killed."

"I won't man, I swear."

"That remains to be seen," Aang said icily. "See ya." He hung up the phone and shook his head. It amazed him how he would always somehow find himself like this. Getting into a situation he never would have thought of getting into, yet here he was. Possibly walking right into someone's trap. With another shake of his head, he used the restroom and went back out to the kitchen where everyone was talking.

"I'm just saying," Sokka was talking to Katara quietly. "Maybe if you didn't make it so obvious, I wouldn't feel the need to tease you about him."

"Tease her about who?" Aang asked curiously with a hint of jealousy as he sat back down at the table.

Everyone looked at each other. "Um, nothing!" Sokka said unconvincingly. Aang gave him a look and he shook his head. "I mean no one!"

"Sokka, I _just_ heard you say, and I quote, 'Maybe if you didn't make it so obvious, I wouldn't feel the need to tease you about him'," Aang slightly grimaced at the words, feeling his jealousy spiking.

Sokka finally gave up. "Look, it's not my place to say, so can we please just drop it?" Katara became worried when Aang didn't say anything for a moment, but he finally let it drop with a sigh, much to her relief. "Good, I'm glad."

"Yeah, me too," Katara whispered to herself. Aang looked at her questioningly, but before he could say anything, Suki stood up.

"Well, how about we get some more training in?" she asked them. Everyone but Teo nodded while he groaned loudly and crossed his arms over his chest. "Teo, you know that you need to keep training." He tried to say something, but she cut him off, "And no, you can't keep saying that you don't need to know how to fight, because you do."

"Whatever," Teo grumbled.

"Come on, let's just go get another hour in and we'll figure out what the plan for the day is," Aang patted him on the back as he walked towards the elevator. Everyone followed suit and got into the elevator with Katara right next to Aang, their sides touching, sending a thrill through each of them. "Hey," he said awkwardly with a smile.

"Hey," she smiled back as the elevator doors closed.

* * *

Nine hours later, Aang walked into the cafe and looked around. The place was filled with people, so it was a good sign that this wasn't a trap. _Or these people could all be bodyguards in disguise,_ he thought in his rare pessimism. Looking around, he saw Zuko sitting over in a corner booth, waiting patiently with a cup of coffee in his hands. _It's now or never._ Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked up to Zuko and sat down in the booth. "So," he started awkwardly. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, and thank you for coming by the way," Zuko said gratefully. "I half expected you not to come."

"I almost didn't," Aang admitted. "But I knew that one way or the other this would go in my favor, so what do you want?"

Zuko gulped a little. He knew that if he went about this the wrong way that he would most likely die, so he had to be careful as he spoke to this man. "I have a proposition for you."

Aang raised an eyebrow, "Well? Are you going to ask or not? I don't have all day."

"Yeah," Zuko nodded quickly, noticing the many weapons inside his jacket that could severely injure him, if not kill him. "I know that you're after the ones who have been kidnapping people off the streets, and you obviously know my family's behind it." Aang just nodded in response. "Well… I want to help you."

"Help me how?" Aang asked suspiciously.

Zuko looked around and took a deep breath before whispering, "I want to help you take down my father."

Aang's eyes widened. "What?!" he whisper-shouted.

"Yeah, I want to help you take him down," Zuko said with more confidence. "And I think that I could be of great help in figuring out a way to do it. I know everything about his daily life and can get access to his plans."

"And why should I believe you?" Aang challenged menacingly, pointing a finger right in Zuko's face. "Why on Earth would you want to get rid of your father? You _want_ to bite the hand that feeds you?"

Zuko put his hands up. "I know, I know. It seems hard to believe." He took a deep breath and looked down at the table. "My father isn't a great father. He's a terrible one, really." Zuko felt his scar, making Aang notice it for the first time. "He did _this_ to me when I was a kid. Nine years old. And just because I wouldn't fight him in a duel." His anger started rising rapidly, but he pushed it back down. "Look, I know that it's not easy to believe me, but my father has hurt me and controls my life. By helping you take him down, I gain my personal freedom back and get a chance to enact revenge for this."

Aang was silent for a moment as he searched through the man's eyes, but did not find any insincerity. "Okay… So you want to help us?" Zuko nodded. "How would you go about doing that?"

"Well," Zuko started, "I would tell you all about how his operations are run and what the easiest way to get to him would be. If you're interested, I could tell you about the other warehouses and get you more information on what exactly they're doing with the benders."

He thought about it for a moment. Certainly there would be an advantage in having an inside man, but this could all be an elaborate trap to get him. Still, even if it was, he knew how to get out, so it's not like he wouldn't be able to get himself out. And although the son of his enemy would be the last person he would imagine would help him, his story rang true and would make sense as to why he would want to help. After a few more moments of consideration while Zuko bit his lip nervously, Aang slowly nodded. "Alright then. If you're serious about this, then I'm willing to give it a shot." Zuko smiled widely before Aang stopped him with a hand. "Don't get too excited about this. I've got some ground rules for us to go into before we do this." He put up a finger as he said each rule. "Number one: If this all turns out to be an elaborate trap, I will not hesitate to come and kill you and will not feel bad about it. Number two: If I agree to do this, you will get me all of the information that I need and you will not participate in any of the bad stuff that your father orders you to do."

"How can I not do that stuff without raising suspicion?" Zuko asked seriously.

Aang shrugged, "I don't know, but if you're helping us, you're sort of joining our team. And one of the rules of our team is no hurting the innocent. Now, rule number three: There will be no talk of this conversation to anyone other than myself. Breaking any of these rules will result in the dissolution of this deal and will also result in your death. Do we have a deal?" he asked as he stuck out a hand.

Zuko shook it firmly, "Deal."

"Good," Aang nodded. "Now that that's out of the way, how do you plan on getting me the information I need?"

"I can get the information without my father knowing and deliver it to you at a meetup spot," Zuko offered.

"Okay, where is a good place that's out of your father's influence?" Aang wondered aloud.

Zuko snapped his fingers, "We can meet at that old warehouse down in the South."

Aang arched an eyebrow, "You mean the one that I just recently destroyed?" Zuko nodded. "No offense, but that's kind of a dumb suggestion. It's now wide open and likely is being monitored by your father in case I ever come back."

"No, it's not being monitored," Zuko insisted. "I should know. They put me in charge of where all of the city cameras are placed, and none are over there."

"Okay," Aang said reluctantly. "If you say so. We'll meet there for our rendezvous." He paused and looked at him seriously. "Just so you know, I'm not just after your father. Your sister has done just as much damage, if not more. She'll be on my list as well. Are you okay with that?"

Zuko was silent for a moment, not really knowing how to respond to that. His sister was definitely crazy, but she was still his sister, and he didn't want her getting hurt. Images of her torturing innocent people flashed through his mind and how much she enjoyed it. "Yeah," he finally answered. "She might be my sister, but she's sadistic and cruel. The world would be better off without her."

"I'm glad you agree," Aang told him as he stood up. "Now, if there's nothing else to say here, I've got other things to do. When you have information to give me, call me on the burner phone and we'll meet up." He started walking away when Zuko called to him. "Yes?" he asked as he looked over his shoulder.

"Thank you," Zuko said gratefully. "For hearing me out and helping me. I really appreciate it."

Aang shook his head slightly, "I'm not doing this for you, but for the city and the people in it. They've all suffered for too long because of your father, and it's about time the people got their freedom back." And with that, he walked out the door, leaving a bewildered Zuko sitting there.

"He does it for the people?" he asked himself in confusion. He had never heard of such selflessness before from a human being. It was a rare thing to hear someone dedicate their life to something that could so easily get them killed, but here he was. Risking his life to keep others safe.

"How did it go, my nephew?" a voice behind him asked. He turned around to see his Uncle standing there with another cup of coffee in his hands.

Zuko shrugged, "It went fine I guess. We reached an agreement and we'll figure it out as we go."

"Good, good," Iroh smiled as he set down the cup of coffee in front of him. "I'm glad you're making the right decision, my nephew." Iroh was silent for a moment. "I know that you are not happy with your father, but are you truly okay with him dying? That doesn't seem like you, Zuko."

"I know," Zuko told him. "This isn't about revenge." Iroh gave him a look. "Okay, it'll be a little added bonus, but the main reason I'm doing this is so I can have my freedom again. Something that I should have had long ago that my own father never thought I should have had."

Iroh sat down on the other side of the booth, "Look my nephew, I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into. This is a very dangerous game you're playing, one that could lead to certain death."

"It could lead to death either way," Zuko pointed out. "Whether it's this 'Stormborn' person or my father, I would likely die. At least if I help take down my father before I die, then I have a good chance of living and getting my freedom back in the process."

"That may be," Iroh agreed slightly, "but you seem to be forgetting the risk of having your father find out of your betrayal. My brother is not a forgiving man, even for his own family. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into, my nephew."

Zuko gave him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, uncle. I know exactly what I'm doing. As soon as I help the Stormborn weaken my father's hold on the city, the sooner he can be taken down and the sooner we can all have our lives back." Iroh still didn't look convinced, but he gave up with a sigh. "I'm glad you see it my way, uncle. Now, if you don't mind, I need to go to the bathroom." He stood up and revealed a little wet spot on his pants.

"Ah, so _that's_ why you need to go the bathroom," Iroh chuckled, much to Zuko's embarrassment.

"Be quiet, Uncle!" Zuko hissed as he covered the spot. Iroh just laughed again as Zuko made a b-line for the bathroom. Taking a sip of the coffee Zuko had left, Iroh couldn't help but wonder how this 'Stormborn' would return the city back to how it used to be.

* * *

Aang walked slowly back to the safehouse. It was a beautiful night and he had decided to take a nice, leisurely stroll on the way to sort through his thoughts. So much had happened over the course of a few days, he didn't even know where to begin. He would never imagine that he would accept that there would be two new recruits in their group, let alone one that could take his heart. An internal struggle raged through his mind as he passed by large buildings. Aang had finally allowed himself to admit that he had feelings for Katara, but he didn't know what to do about it. On one hand, he wanted to tell her how he felt and hope that she felt the same. On the other hand, he _didn't_ want to tell her because it could possibly ruin their friendship or could lead to him having deeper feelings for her and making a bad decision. He just didn't know what to do, and not knowing always bugged him when it came to situations like this. Though to be fair, he was never really in a situation like this before. The last time he had liked a girl was back when his parents were alive…

"So," a voice said from behind him. "The great and powerful 'Stormborn' is walking by himself in the middle of the night? You make this too easy."

Aang whipped around and looked at the situation before him. Four guards, all armed with electric swords and wearing the standard armor of his enemy. "Well, it looks like you guys are back for more. And to think, I thought I killed all of you guys," he taunted.

The first man growled in annoyance. "Nope," he shook his head. "Just some of us. And you won't be killing anymore of us."

"Oh?" Aang feigned surprise, "And why would that be?"

"Because we're going to kill you," he responded maliciously.

Aang just laughed at him, "Okay, with just four of you? Good luck."

"Get him, men!" the man commanded, pointing his sword at Aang. The soldiers charged him, but Aang just jumped out of the way as they crashed into the wall, completely stunning themselves.

"Wow," Aang laughed as he shook his head at their stupidity. "Great idea. Charge an airbender who happens to be in front of a wall. You guys make this too easy." The leader got angry again and shot a spark of electricity at him which Aang just absorbed with his blade. "Really? You're going to try _that_? You know that I can bend lightning right?" He took the lightning and shot it back at the guard, killing him instantly. The rest of the guards looked unsure what to do without their leader. "Come on, let's get this over with. The only way you get paid is if you get my head, right? Well what are you waiting for?" The soldiers became angry again and ganged up around him. One went for his back while another went for his throat. Aang simply ducked as they stabbed each other, falling slowly to the ground. He turned to the last one. "Care to try your luck?"

"Uh…" the soldier muttered, deciding whether or not to do anything.

"Tell you what," Aang offered as he leaned against the wall. "If you leave right now, I won't kill you. This is your only chance though, so I would suggest taking it." After a few moments, the guard nodded reluctantly and wisely ran away, saving his life in the process. "Smart choice," Aang smirked. Turning back to his original pathway, he heard footsteps behind him. Curious, he let the stranger come up behind him and felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around quickly ready to strike, he looked just in time to see a man behind him get stabbed with a switchblade, dropping quickly to the ground. When he looked up from the body, he was surprised to see Zuko there. "Zuko?"

"Yeah, It's me," Zuko shrugged as he put his blade back in his pocket. "Sorry about that, but if I wasn't here he would have killed you."

Aang shrugged in return, "I heard him coming but I wanted to see if he was dumb enough to actually try it. But I appreciate the gesture." He paused in thought. "So, you're really not out to kill me, huh?"

Zuko shook his head, "Nope. Like I said, I want to help you take down my father. He's corrupted this city for too long and should be made to pay for his crimes."

"That's not the only reason is it?" Aang questioned him.

He let out a sigh and shook his head. "My father did _this_ to me," Zuko pointed to his scar. "I'm not proud of it, but part of me wants revenge for ruining my face."

Aang was silent for a moment, looking at Zuko with pity. "I would ask you what happened, but I'm sure you don't want to talk about it." Zuko looked at him gratefully. "Well, I suppose I should thank you for having my back. Literally," he chuckled.

"No problem, Mr. Stormborn," Zuko stuck out his hand. "I'll get you some information and we'll start working on wearing down my father's influence."

Aang shook it with a smile from under his hood, "Sounds good to me." He was silent for a moment as an idea came to mind. "Since you're on our side, would you ever consider becoming one of us?" he asked curiously.

Zuko raised an eyebrow, "'One of us'? There's more of you?"

"Not more Stormborns, but I have allies who I'm training to help me protect the city," Aang told him. "At first I was against getting new recruits, but the more help we can get, the better chance we have of keeping this city free of tyrants like your father. And if you're willing, I could train you while we figure out a plan to take down your father."

Zuko thought about it for a moment. Surely it would be nice to have a purpose in life rather than meaningless paperwork and completing menial tasks for his father, but this could put him at more risk if he decided to. Then again, it could provide him with the skills and knowledge of how to protect himself if needed. "I'll think about it," he responded after a few moments. "It sounds good, but I have to be sure that I'm willing to take that risk."

Aang nodded in understanding, "Of course. I'll give you until the next time we meet to make your decision."

"Wait," Zuko said. "Do you think I could bring someone with me if I did choose to come?"

"Uh, as long as they're not someone who's going to betray us, then yeah," Aang shrugged as he scratched his head in thought. "Why?"

Zuko looked down in embarrassment, "Well, I've sort of got this fiance I wouldn't want to leave alone if I did join you. She's tough and good with shurikens, so I think she would make a great addition to the team."

Aang pondered it for a few moments before nodding slowly. "Okay, if you decide that you want to join, then she can come as well. Wouldn't want her to get caught in the crossfire, would we?"

"No," Zuko agreed with a sigh of relief. "She means too much to me to leave her on her own for something like that."

"I know what you mean," Aang muttered. Zuko looked at him curiously. "It's a long story," he waved him off. "Maybe if you join us I'll let you know."

He looked like he wanted to ask more, but he just let it go with a sigh. "Okay then. I'll get in contact with you when I have some useful information for you. Hopefully I can get some information and have it for you within a couple of days."

"Sounds good," Aang clapped him on the shoulder. "Let me know when you're ready to meet up. Until next time, Mr. Hotman," Aang grinned before taking off onto a roof and out of sight.

Zuko shook his head at him in confusion, "_Mr. Hotman_?" Finally dismissing it, he walked to his car and drove home, knowing he had a lot to think about.

* * *

A loud thud could be heard from the ceiling above them as everyone sat in the living room watching a movie. "Aang!" Katara said happily as he landed on the ground.

He took off his hood and smiled at her. "How's it going guys?" She ran up to him and tackled him in another hug, ecstatic that he was alive and well. "Did someone miss me?" he teased.

Katara nodded against his shoulder. "I was really worried," she whispered in his ear. "We hadn't heard anything from you, and you took longer than we anticipated. I thought you had gotten really hurt."

"I'm fine Kat," he assured her as he hugged her back. "It just took a little longer than expected. I got jumped by a group of bad guys on the way back."

"Aha!" Teo cried triumphantly. "I knew it! You can never trust an Agni!"

Aang shook his head at him. "No Teo, it wasn't like that," he told him. "I was walking back after our meeting and was challenged by a group of soldiers who wanted to collect the bounty on my head. Zuko even saved me from one who tried to stab me in the back."

Teo didn't believe him for a second. "He probably did it just so that you would let your guard down! I don't trust him!" he shouted angrily.

"I know you're in pain Teo. Trust me, I'm in the same boat as you," Aang said as he walked over and gave him a bro hug. "But not every Agni is evil. Zuko didn't choose to be born in his family, but he's choosing to fight against them to help the city."

"Yeah right," Teo rolled his eyes. "He's probably just doing it for his own benefit."

Aang nodded reluctantly, "At least partially. He said he wants to help the city, but he admitted that part of the reason was for revenge. Still, that gives a perfect reason as to why he would help us. I've seen what his father did to him. There's no way he wants to help him."

There was utter silence in the room as Teo stared angrily at Aang until he finally gave up with a sigh. "Fine," he mumbled. "But if he does end up betraying us, I expect you to slit his throat for me to see along with his father," he growled darkly.

Aang was taken aback at Teo's request, but he owed him that at the very least. "Fine. If that does happen, which I don't think it will, then I'll give you what you want." Teo nodded in satisfaction and sat back against the couch with his arms crossed, still clearly not too happy with the situation. "I know you don't trust the guy, but I think he can be of great help to us." He paused to figure out how to put this in the best way possible. "And he might even be able to help us in other ways."

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked curiously while laying back in his recliner.

"Well.." Aang started nervously, "I sort of invited him to join our team." Surprise overcame everyone's faces, but only Teo's turned red with rage.

"You did _what_?!" he whispered shouted.

Aang covered his mouth with his hand, ensuring there wouldn't be any more yelling. "I said that I invited him to join us," he repeated slowly. Teo struggled slightly, but couldn't do much with Aang holding him down. "Look, I know what the Agnis' did to your family, but that doesn't mean we should just turn one away who wants to help us. We're only after the evil ones, not the good ones."

"How do you know he's good?" Suki piped up. "You met the guy once. How do you know he isn't just trying to gain our trust to win his father's favor?"

"Because if he was, he could've had me killed by the guy who was blowing up that building in the South," Aang explained. "That guy was a powerhouse. If he wanted me dead, he would have ordered him to attack me. Besides, he has no motive to earn his father's favor, so there's no reason to worry about that." Teo raised a hand to argue, but Aang cut him off. "Hey, if you really don't trust him after he joins us, then you can keep an eye on him all you want, Teo. You can have access to all security footage day and night of what he does while we're here, and if he does turn out to be working against us, then I'll let you have the honor of ending him for his betrayal." Teo once again became satisfied and nodded slowly, finally accepting the plan.

Katara finally spoke up, "Well then, I guess that's settled. When does he get here?"

"It's not official yet," Aang told her. "He's still thinking about it, but he'll let me know when I see him next." He looked at the time and let out a yawn. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. Night guys." Everyone except Katara said goodnight as he walked to his room. As he was about to open his door, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Katara behind him blushing slightly. "Katara? Did you need something?" he asked in confusion.

"Well…" she trailed off nervously. "I just wanted to say goodnight without everyone around." She leaned up on her toes and gave him a long kiss on the cheek, making him flush down to his neck. "Goodnight, Aang," she said with a smile as she pulled away.

He gulped a little and nodded, "G-Goodnight Katara." Finally collecting himself, he attempted to walk into his room but had forgotten that he hadn't opened his door yet. Katara giggled as he rubbed his face, making him smile at how cute her giggle was. "Goodnight, Katara," he repeated with a smile as he walked in the room. The door closed behind him and he stood in front of it, wondering if he should say what his heart was screaming at him to. Deciding against it, he let out a sigh and jumped onto his bed, falling into happy dreams about the Waterbender who had stolen his heart.


	6. Chapter 6: Decisions

Chapter 6: Decisions

**Hey guys! Sorry I've been taking a lot longer than usual lately. I've had a lot going on between work and helping my family out with various things that I haven't gotten a lot of free time lately. I'll try to make more time for it so you guys don't have to wait so long. **

**Responses to Reviews: **

**CassieLiam4: I'm glad you like it. Sorry I've been so slow, I'm trying my best to get it out as quickly for you guys as possible. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Ashley Barbosa: Thanks! Angel Heart inspired the idea, but I've been wanting to write a story like this for a while before I even read that story. I made Aang older because I like the idea of Aang being older, like if I had been in charge of how ATLA was made, he would have been older than Katara but younger than Sokka. It just seems better that way if you ask me for some reason and is how it will be in all of my stories. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Rlraj4750: I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! I may or may not include Toph later on, you'll just have to find out as you read. Yeah, I may have overdone it with the fluffy moments in the last chapter, but I can't help myself sometimes because I love Kataang so much. Zuko has good intentions, but he did at first before he betrayed Aang and Katara in the Catacombs, so I guess you'll find out… Yeah, when I go back and look at my earlier work, I sort of cringe because it used to be mediocre and now it's just average. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**AnonymousKataang: In case you didn't see it earlier on chapter two, they are twins in the sense that they are identical to each other. They are not fraternal twins. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

"Sokka! Stop eating so much!" Katara chided her brother as he kept taking snacks from the car. They had gotten in contact with their father and told him they would meet him at the house and explain everything. Aang volunteered to go with them to serve as backup in case more of Ozai's soldiers attempted to get them, but he wasn't able to fit in the car due to it only being made for two, so he flew above them on his wings. It worked out for him because he wasn't very fond of cramped spaces anyway.

"No!" Sokka refused defiantly as he took another bag of chips from the car and started eating some. "I'm hungry!"

Katara rolled her eyes, "We just had lunch not even an hour ago. How are you hungry already?"

Sokka shrugged as he finished off the last of the bag, "I don't know, but I'm not starving myself because you decided that I'm eating too much."

"Decided that you're eating too much?" Katara asked in disbelief. "You've had three bags of chips, two sub sandwiches and five cookies! I haven't decided that you're eating too much, I _know_ that you're eating too much."

He just waved her off. "Just leave me alone, Katara. I don't get in your business so how about you stay out of mine," Sokka complained.

Katara was about to argue further, but the car announced their arrival. She looked up to see that it had parked in their driveway. Aang landed in front of it and retracted his wings as he opened the door for Katara, offering her a hand which she took with a smile. "Why thank you," she kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush but quickly became serious again.

"No problem," he smiled a little and looked around, ensuring that no one was watching them.

"Do you really think someone's watching us?" Sokka asked curiously.

Aang nodded without taking his eyes off a distant rooftop, wondering if he was imagining the dark blob he saw there. "Yeah, that's what comes with living in a city that is basically ruled by a tyrant. There are cameras everywhere that we can't see without the right equipment."

Sokka looked worried. "Do you think they have them in our rooms and stuff?" he asked.

"Possibly," Aang answered him. "I'm not sure how they would manage that, but it's completely possible. The Agnis' are very rich, and their influence is spread far throughout the city. I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Why?"

Sokka gulped a little. "Well… I may have done some embarrassing stuff in my room, and I don't want others seeing it."

Katara raised a brow to her brother. "What did you do, Sokka?" she questioned.

"Um… I may have… spent a week in my room eating food and watching porn," he admitted with a deep blush.

Aang and Katara groaned in disgust. "We didn't need to know about that, Sokka," Katara shuddered. "Why couldn't you just say that you ate food in bed for a week?"

"Because A- I mean Stormborn here said that honesty is key to a good team," Sokka responded with a shrug.

"Yeah, but now I'm regretting saying that," Aang grimaced as he started walking to their front door. He reached it and turned around to them. "Alright, you guys go in there and talk to your dad and get your stuff. I'll be out here when you guys are ready to go."

Katara shook her head and grabbed him by the arm. "Come on Aang, I want you to meet my dad. I think you guys would get along very well. You both have the same type of humor and you're both awesome," she told him while he blushed slightly.

"I don't know…" he said unsurely. "What if someone tracks you down and I could be out here to tell if they're here or not?"

"You're just being paranoid Aang," Katara assured him. "We'll be just fine. Now come on." She took his hand and dragged him to the door with Sokka close behind. Not bothering to knock on the door, she opened it and walked in, making her way straight for the living room where she knew her dad would be. "Hi dad," she smiled as she walked in and saw him in his recliner.

Hakoda smiled widely as she hugged him, making him laugh at her strength. "Wow, you hug just like your mother did." Katara smiled a little and pulled back, allowing Hakoda to notice Aang. With a gasp, he pulled out his gun and aimed at Aang. "Freeze! You're under arrest for disrupting the peace and unapproved vigilantism."

"Dad, no!" Katara begged as she stood in front of Aang. "This is the guy who saved me from that warehouse! He's not our enemy!"

"He's a wanted criminal Katara!" Hakoda argued. "I'm grateful that he saved your life, but he still needs to be taken in."

Sokka stepped in this time. "He might be a criminal, but he's not a bad one dad. This guy dedicates his life to helping the people who can't help themselves."

"It's alright guys," Aang motioned for them to back down as he held out his hands. "I'm not your enemy sir. If you really want to put me away, then so be it."

Katara looked at Hakoda pleadingly, "Please dad, he's not a bad guy! He saved my life and gave us a place to stay where the people who kidnapped me wouldn't be able to get us." Hakoda still looked unsure as he aimed at Aang. "If you're going to arrest him, then you're going to have to arrest me too," she told him defiantly.

He raised an eyebrow without putting down the gun. "What are you talking about, Katara?"

"Sokka and I went to the market a couple of days ago and were attacked by some soldiers," she explained without backing down. "I had to help kill some of them, so I should be wanted too. If you take him, you're taking me," Katara said stubbornly.

Hakoda laughed a little incredulously, "Katara, you're my daughter! Besides, your case could easily be excused as self defense. His crimes were completely intentional and unnecessary. I'm just doing my job, sweetheart."

"Well my job now is to help him!" she shouted, getting more and more worried. "We joined his team and are vigilantes ourselves now. You'll still have to take us in. It's your job right?"

"That's different," Hakoda argued.

Sokka shook his head. "But it's not dad. If we turned out to be psychopathic murderers, you would still be expected to turn us in regardless." He walked up to Aang and put a hand on his shoulder as Katara did the same. "If you arrest him, then you're arresting all of us."

There was pure silence for several moments until Hakoda reluctantly let the gun down with a sigh. "Fine, but I'm keeping an eye on you," he pointedly threateningly at Aang.

Katara rolled her eyes, "Dad, he's not a bad guy. Just because the press shows him as one doesn't mean he actually is."

"I know that," Hakoda acknowledged as he sat back down in his chair. "But I don't know him well, and what I do know of him isn't helping his case." Katara gave him a look but he just shrugged. "I don't know what you want me to say, sweetheart. My job is to take in criminals, not let them stay in my house."

"May I say something on my own behalf, sir?" Aang asked politely. Hakoda nodded. "I know that your job is to bring in criminals, and I respect you greatly for that, but I'm not your average criminal. As Sokka said, I work for the people instead of myself. Being a vigilante isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if I'm making a difference in the city for the better."

Hakoda laughed a little, "Maybe so, but you are well aware that vigilantism is illegal and go through with it anyway. Why not just let us police handle it and not risk your life?"

Aang looked him square in his eyes before taking off his hood, making Katara and Sokka gasp at his bold action. "Because I care about this city and the people in it, sir. With all due respect, doing things by the book takes a lot longer and doesn't really get much done. You've seen this firsthand, haven't you sir?" Hakoda reluctantly nodded. "That's why I choose to do this. Because if things kept going at the rate they were, the people might as well be slaves to the rich and powerful by now. And I won't just stand by and do nothing when I know that I have the power to do something to help others. And no, I'm not doing this for the fame, because if I was, then I would have someone know my name," he told him as he saw Hakoda about to speak up.

"I guess you're right," Hakoda admitted as he looked at Aang in a new light. "Well, since I'm not out to arrest you anymore, I suppose I should thank you for saving my daughter and son." He got up and stuck his hand out to Aang who shook it. "Thank you, Mr. Stormborn."

"Please sir, you can call me Aang," he smiled as he let go of his hand.

Katara looked at him curiously, "Aren't you worried about someone finding out your identity?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm not too worried. I'm sure your father is an honorable man who I can trust. Besides, I want to show that I'm trustworthy by telling him my name. This way you can trust that I'm not some regular criminal, because I can guarantee no ordinary criminal would readily give out their name to a police chief."

"He's right. That would be incredibly stupid of a criminal to do," Hakoda agreed, finally smiling at Aang. He turned his attention to Katara. "So, you said something about you joining his team?"

She nodded and dragged Aang to sit down on the couch with her while Sokka laid down on the love seat. "Yeah, we've decided that we want to make a difference and that the best way to do that would be to help Aang here. That way we can also get training to help defend ourselves."

"I could have trained you," Hakoda told her. "I know how to fight."

"We know that dad," Katara assured him, "but we're learning a specific kind of fighting that these soldiers don't know how to defend against."

Sokka sat up and nodded excitedly. "Yeah! It's been awesome! Katara and I are going to be awesome fighters by the time we're done!"

Hakoda laughed and patted his son on the back. "Well, good for you son. So does this mean you guys won't be able to live here anymore?" he asked a little sadly.

"Unfortunately not no," Katara agreed sadly. "If not because of the people trying to kidnap us, then because we're going to be wanted for helping Aang." She walked over and gave him a hug. "I'm really sorry dad."

"Me too, sweetheart," he whispered softly as he held her close. "But I understand and I'm glad that you guys found a purpose for your life. I'm sure your mother would be very proud of you."

Katara smiled, "Thanks dad." She paused for a moment. "Dad, I know that you said that you don't want to… but I really think that you should try dating."

Hakoda shook his head firmly. "No Katara, your mom is the only one for me. I'll wait for her until the day I die."

"But dad, she would want you to be happy," Katara tried to placate him. "Sokka and I aren't going to be around as much anymore, so I want you to find someone. And I'm sure she wants you to be happy. Please, dad," she almost begged.

He was silent for a few moments until he let out a long sigh. "Alright," he gave in reluctantly. "I'll give it a shot. But no one will _ever_ compare to your mother, just so you guys know."

Katara smiled and looked back slightly towards Aang who was playing with his blade. "Yeah… I know. And she knows that too." Hakoda smiled a little and gave her another hug. After that, Katara moved back to sit next to Aang, noticeably sitting closer than before. Hakoda raised an eyebrow, but she just gave him a smile and he shrugged it off.

"So," he started, "I guess you guys will need to pack some things then. Do you guys want any help?"

"I'll be fine, but Sokka probably will need some help," Katara laughed. "He's never been good at anything that has to do with organization."

"Hey!" Sokka complained.

Hakoda chuckled, "Sorry Sokka, but you know it's true. Now come on, we should get started." He turned to Aang. "Why don't you help Katara just in case? You seem to be very smart, so you could probably help her out."

"I don't know…" Aang said unsurely. "There's still a chance that someone could be watching us right now. I should probably go outside and stand guard."

Katara grabbed his arm and started dragging him upstairs, "Come on, Aang. I know that you're worried, but even if we do get attacked wouldn't it be better to be near us to protect us?"

He didn't want to admit it, but she had a point. Not that he had much choice in the situation anyway, due to her already having him halfway up the stairs. Hakoda just laughed at his daughter and turned to Sokka. "So she likes him, does she?" he asked with a grin.

Sokka laughed, "Yeah, pretty much. Ever since she met him, she won't stop talking about him."

"Do you think he would be good for her?" Hakoda questioned.

"Yeah, I actually do," Sokka said with a smile. "The guy's truly unique. I've seen him in action, both physical and verbal. He's strong, confident, capable, and very respectful of everyone's wishes. Especially hers."

Hakoda nodded and looked up to see Katara finally reach the top of the stairs. "Well, I'm glad to hear that then. No wonder she was so insistent that I don't arrest him. She wouldn't want her boyfriend to go to jail, now would she?" he chuckled.

"He's not her boyfriend. At least yet," Sokka smiled a little. "For once I don't feel the need to be overprotective of her, so it's a nice change of pace."

"And how about you, Sokka?" Hakoda smiled. "Any girls on this team that you might be interested in?"

Sokka nodded, "Yeah, there's this one girl named Suki, but she's gorgeous and there's no way she would want to go out with me. Especially after she saw my sexist pig side of me."

Hakoda burst out laughing. "Oh she saw that did she?" Sokka nodded in embarrassment. "Well, I hope someone knocked some sense into you. I'm still not sure where you learned that idea; we all know your mother was the boss of our house."

"I think it was from tv," Sokka thought aloud before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. I guess you can say that I actually _did_ get some sense knocked into me, because I don't have that problem anymore." Hakoda raised an eyebrow. "She punched me in the face when I got too cocky and said that there was no way she could beat me since she was a girl," he explained.

"Well that makes sense," Hakoda smirked. "Sorry to say this son, but you kind of had it coming."

Sokka smiled sheepishly, "I know, trust me. But I won't be making the same mistake again, so there won't be a problem anymore."

Hakoda clapped him on the back, making Sokka wince a little. "Well good for you, Sokka. Now how about we go get your stuff packed?" They went upstairs while Katara was busy shoving everything she could into a few duffel bags, making sure that Aang was still there.

"Do you need any help, Katara?" Aang offered politely as he sat down on her bed watching her run around like a chicken without a head.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled, "No thanks, I'm just about finished." Aang nodded and looked around the room. It wasn't what he expected it to be. Her room was filled with old knick knacks and pictures of her family. Looking closely at one, he noticed a picture with a woman who looked a lot like Katara. Katara looked back and saw him looking at the picture. "I see you've noticed my mother."

He snapped his attention back to her. "I'm sorry, it's just that you look so much like her. It's a bit surprising to see a mother and daughter who are almost clones."

"Yeah, that's what everyone would always tell me when I was a kid," she agreed with a laugh. "Everyone would joke that I would grow up to look exactly like her." Katara picked up the picture and smiled sadly as she looked at her mother holding her in her lap. "I miss her so much," she whispered softly, tears starting to prick her eyes. She was surprised when she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her and pull her into his warmth. The feeling of being in his arms comforted her, knowing that she was safe and cared for there.

"I would go on some long speech about how sorry I am," Aang mumbled into her ear, causing her to shiver, "but I'm sure that you've heard it enough times by now. But if it helps at all, I know how you feel. My parents… they were…" he took a deep breath, "killed when I was fifteen years old."

Katara turned around in his arms and looked up to him. "Really?" He nodded. "I'm sorry, Aang."

"Don't be," he shook his head. "You didn't have anything to do with it."

She was silent for a moment. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked nervously, not wanting to be too intrusive in his life. He didn't say anything for a moment, wondering if he should tell her or not. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she amended.

"No, it's alright," Aang told her. "My family used to be on the run for most of our lives. There were only two Stormborns left in the world before they had me. Somehow they met and discovered each others' identities and decided that they needed to continue reproducing Stormborns."

"Did they ever have other kids?" Katara asked.

Aang didn't say anything for a moment. "They were about to," he told her sadly, causing her to squeeze him tighter. "My mom was pregnant. A few more months and there would have been another Stormborn in the world. They waited a long time to have another one because my mom almost died during my birth, so they wanted to make sure she had enough time to recuperate. Then someone found us, and I guess they somehow found out that we were Stormborns." He took a deep breath, trying his best to keep the tears away. "One day everything was fine at our temporary house. We knew that it was dangerous to stay in any place too long to risk being caught, so we would move every couple months or so. But out of the blue on that night, a group of soldiers broke into our house and started looking for us. My parents heard them coming and knew that they would be mostly focused on them, so they gave me money and the keys to their car and told me to get out of there. I didn't want to, but I was so scared that I took it and gave them a hug before I ran out." Tears flowed freely down his face. "The last words I heard from my mom was that she loved me and that everything would be alright." He let out a breath he had been unconsciously holding. "I'll never forget that day."

Katara rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Aang. How did you wind up here?"

Aang rested his chin on her head. "I drove as far away from there as I could. When I ran out of gas, I was in the middle of New Ozai and decided that the city would be big enough for me to lay low in if I was careful. I got an apartment with the money they gave me using fake credentials that I bought off someone and got a job. I was okay for a year there until I started seeing people in distress, and I knew that I had to do something about that. Fortunately for me, my parents taught me how to fight and helped me master all the elements before I left, so I was more than capable of helping them. I worked on making a weapon that would be quick, quiet, and clean. Then I met Teo and the rest is history."

"Wow," she said in disbelief. "You've got quite the story. I'm sorry about your family." She pulled back to look at him. "But we're your family now. We'll always be here for you."

He looked at her gratefully, his eyes shining with love for the girl who had stolen his heart. "Thank you, Katara," he whispered. They held each other in a comfortable silence, not daring to move from each others' warmth. After a few minutes he pulled away, causing her to groan at losing the comfort that he gave. "It feels really good to get that off my chest. I already have so many things to worry about, so it was nice to talk about it."

"It's no problem at all, Aang," she smiled. "I know how you feel. What other stuff do you have to worry about?" she asked, wanting to know how she could help him.

"Well," he started thoughtfully, "I have to help take care of this city and my friends, I have to watch out for anyone who might be after me, and I eventually have to start repopulating the Stormborns." He laughed a little. "It's going to be hard to find a girl who would willingly carry my children."

Katara laughed nervously. "Well… maybe I-" Before she could finish her sentence, her brother came in, much to her annoyance.

"Katara, are you done packing yet?" he questioned with a duffel bag hanging over his shoulder. "You're taking forever," he slightly complained.

She glared at him as Aang snickered. "Shut up, Sokka! I have a lot more stuff than you do. Besides, I was in the middle of a conversation with Aang."

"Oh, I know you were," Sokka said knowingly, hinting that he knew what she was about to say and didn't like it. "Now hurry up and finish. It's not a good idea for us to stick around in one place for too long. Right Aang?"

Aang nodded. "He's right. The more time we spend here, the more likely we are to be targets. Let's just finish and get going." Katara let out a long sigh and nodded, quickly gathering the rest of her stuff. She attempted to grab her bags, but Aang swooped them all up in one motion before she could get the chance. "I got it," he shrugged as he held the door for her. "Shall we?"

She smiled and walked up to him while giving him a long kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear, making him shiver a little.

"No problem," he chuckled nervously while she walked out. Taking a deep breath, he put his hood back on and followed her out to the car where Hakoda and Sokka were waiting for them.

"So," Hakoda started. "Am I going to be able to see you guys much anymore?"

Katara and Sokka looked to Aang who nodded. "Of course. We'll keep in contact with you and arrange meetings for you to spend time with each other. Maybe even if you're willing, we could bring you to our headquarters so you can spend time with them."

Sokka's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? You'd be willing to do that?"

"Sure," Aang shrugged. "As long as we put a blindfold on him so he doesn't know where it is, then it shouldn't be a problem." Katara ran up and gave him a hug, making him almost drop her bags in the process. Aang laughed as he set her bags down.

"Thank you," Katara said gratefully without letting go. "You don't know how much that means to me."

Aang smiled and hugged her back. "It's no problem at all, Kat. If my parents were still alive I would want the same thing, so how could I deny you guys that?" She smiled and squeezed him tighter while Hakoda gave Sokka a look.

Sokka sighed and walked over to them. "Alright you two, you've had enough hugs for a year. You can hug once we're back in the safehouse." Aang tried to move, but Katara wouldn't let him go, making Hakoda snicker as Sokka groaned in annoyance. "Katara, if you don't let him go in five seconds I'm going to tickle you."

She stuck her tongue out at him, "I'm not ticklish Sokka, so ha."

"Wanna bet?" Sokka asked with a grin. Katara didn't budge, giving Sokka the go ahead. "Stormborn, mind helping me out here?" Aang nodded with a grin and tickled her stomach while Sokka went for her armpits, making her shriek in laughter. Katara wasn't one to give up easily though, so she held onto Aang as tears started flowing. "You can't last forever Katara!" Sokka taunted.

"Wanna bet?" Katara taunted right back through her laughter. She was wrong however, because in the next minute or so she couldn't take it anymore and reluctantly let Aang go. "Fine," she sighed. "You guys win." Walking up to Hakoda, she gave him a big hug. "Love you dad."

He smiled softly and hugged her back. "Love you too, Sweetheart. I'll miss you."

Tears flowed down her eyes again, but she wiped them away and kept hugging him. "I'll miss you too, but we'll see you as much as we can. Promise." Hakoda smiled and let her go, turning to Aang.

"Take care of them," he all but demanded. "If they get hurt, I'll be coming after you."

Aang raised his hand. "Don't worry sir. I'll protect them with my life. If anyone's going to die, it'll be me." Hakoda nodded and stuck out his hand to Aang who shook it with a smile.

"Come here, Sokka," Hakoda chuckled as Sokka ran up and gave him a quick hug.

"We'll see you soon, dad. We can talk every night and complain about Katara," Sokka joked, making Katara frown.

Hakoda laughed and patted him on the back. "Sounds like a plan son." They both hugged him one more time, making Aang feel like a third wheel despite there being four of them. Finally separating, Hakoda looked to Aang with a grin. "Good luck, son," he told Aang, making him blush slightly that only Hakoda could see. _Yep, he likes my daughter,_ Hakoda thought with a smile.

Sokka and Katara got into the car while Aang got his wings back out. Once he was sure they were ready, he launched into the air and they took off, heading back towards the safehouse. As he flew over, Aang couldn't help but feel like something was off. Looking around, he noticed an armored truck coming quickly behind them. "I knew it," he muttered to himself. Shaking his head, he swooped down and landed on the back of the truck while radioing in to them. "Sokka, Katara, I've got something to deal with real quick. Let me know if you see any more armored trucks."

"Roger that," Sokka responded. "We'll keep an eye out." Aang nodded to himself and got back to work. Creeping over to the top of it, he cut open a circle in the roof with his blade and jumped in to see four surprised soldiers.

"Surprise!" Aang chuckled as he flexed his blade. They tried to shoot him, but he was too quick. Within a matter of moments, they fell dead at his feet while he wiped their blood off his blade. "You guys make this too easy," he clucked disappointedly. Looking to the front, he saw the driver and decided to get some answers. Taking out his phone, he quickly hacked into the car's programming and made it slow down and pull over to the side of the road.

"What the hell!" the driver exclaimed as he tried to get it to work. Aang rolled his eyes and pulled the driver into his part of the vehicle, holding the blade to his throat. "Who is your commanding officer?" Aang questioned with a glare.

The soldier gulped a little. "I don't know! Honest!"

Aang pulled him up and slammed him against the wall of the vehicle, leaving a large bump in the back of the soldier's head. "Do I look like I was born yesterday? I know that you have a leader who ships you out to your employers and I need to know who that is." He put his knife up against his throat again. "Do you know how sharp this blade is?" The guard gulped again, too scared to say anything. "I sharpen it myself everyday to make sure that it's effective in taking the lives of people like you. All it would take is one little twitch of my wrist for your blood to spill all over the ground. I'll give you one last chance: Who is your commanding officer?"

"Okay! Okay!" the soldier exclaimed in fear, trying his best not to move against the sharp edge right against his throat. "I don't know his actual name, but he's known as 'The Warden'. He runs our training and works on getting us hired!"

"Where are you trained?" Aang questioned.

The soldier shrugged, "I don't know exactly where it is. We meet up in one of several spots when we want to sign up and they blindfold us so that we don't know where the location is."

Aang was silent for a moment, reading the man's face and saw that he was telling the truth. "Alright then," he let the man drop to the ground as his blade went back into his sleeve. "I'll let you live, but you have to do something for me."

"Anything!" the man promised quickly. "I don't want to die yet!"

"You probably shouldn't be in the mercenary business then," Aang chuckled darkly. "You'll find a way to get back to your boss and you'll give him this message: Either he stops sending his employer soldiers or he'll pay with his life. There will not be any compromises on that. Am I understood?" The man nodded. "Good. Now get out of here before I change my mind." Aang walked back towards the hole in the roof until the man called behind him.

"Wait! What should I tell him your name is?"

Aang looked over his shoulder. "You won't need to. He'll know who I am." With a final nod, he jumped up out of the roof and relaunched his wings, flying over and looking for the Aquas'. After a few minutes of searching, he found their car stopped at a traffic sign a few blocks away from the hideout entrance. "Are you guys okay?" Aang asked over the radio.

"We're fine," Katara assured him. "No one else came to get us. We've even been using that new device that Teo gave us to make sure no one's following us."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Good, I'm glad to hear it. I got some information on the man who's supplying the Agnis' with soldiers. If we can take him out, they won't be getting more soldiers to fight for them."

"Don't you think they would just look for someone else to get soldiers from?" Katara wondered.

"No, there's only one place in the city where you can get mercenaries," he explained as he looked down at them. "It's too risky to try getting soldiers from a place outside of the city, so they have to stick with whoever has them here. Without their soldiers, their defenses will be let down just enough for me to sneak in and for me to take Ozai out." He chuckled to himself. "Then maybe we can rename the city to something better than New Ozai."

The car got moving again and Katara chuckled as well. "Yeah, that's pretty self-centered of him to name the city after himself," she agreed. "Be careful up there, Aang. It's dangerous to be up in the air."

"Not for an airbender," Aang shrugged. "Even if my wings stopped working, I could just use the air to slow my descent."

"But-"

Aang smiled a little as he politely cut her off, "It's fine, Katara. I'm more worried about you than I am about myself. Now, let's get back to the safehouse and get something to eat. I didn't get to eat breakfast, so I'm pretty hungry."

"Yeah! Let's go eat some food!" Sokka agreed loudly.

"Sokka! Stop yelling when I'm driving!" Katara complained.

"You're not even driving!" Sokka argued. "The car's doing all of the driving, not you!"

Aang shook his head at their antics. "Okay guys, remember what we said about trying to get along?" He knew by their silence that they did. "Good. Now let's get back inside." They finally pulled up to the gas station and hid the car in their camo tarp, watching it disappear before their eyes.

"Wow," Katara gasped. "It still amazes me that you have stuff like this."

"That _we_ have stuff like this," Aang corrected her with a smile. "Remember: You guys are a part of the team just as much as Teo, Suki, and I are. We're a family now."

She smiled back and they stared into each others eyes until Sokka groaned loudly. "Are you guys coming or not?" Sokka grumbled as he walked towards the back. They both snapped out of it and blushed as they walked back to the elevator, sneaking a quick glance at the other along the way.

* * *

Zuko looked around impatiently. He was supposed to meet Stormborn there ten minutes ago, but apparently he was late for some reason. It was risky to just sit around like a sitting duck with highly classified info in his hands, but he knew that no one was watching him. No one other than his fiance, at least. "How long is this guy going to take to get here?" Mai drawled dully.

He just shrugged. "I don't know. He should have been here by now, but he's kind of a busy guy. I don't really blame him for running a little late. I'm sure he'll be here any second now." As if on cue, Aang came flying in on his wings and landed in front of them, his hood hanging low over his face.

"Zuko," he nodded to him. Looking over to his right, he noticed Mai standing there with her trademark eye roll. "I take it this is your fiance?" Zuko nodded. Aang stuck his hand out to her, "Nice to meet you. You can call me Stormborn for now until we're better acquainted."

She shook it firmly, "I'm Mai."

Nodding again, he turned his attention back to Zuko. "So, I take it that you're joining us since you have her with?"

"Yeah, I figured it would be our best bet," Zuko agreed as he handed him the files. "If my father figures out that I took these files, I don't want to be around to see what would happen." Aang opened it up and took a look. "These are schematics and plans for all of his warehouses and his operations. I didn't get to find out what exactly he's planning, but I know it's not good."

Aang raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? How 'not good' is it?"

Zuko looked around and leaned into him. "We're talking world domination here," he whispered softly, taking Aang by surprise. "Something to do with figuring out how benders get their abilities and how to extract it from them. There hasn't been much progress, but before I left, I heard some scientists saying they might be able to figure it out within a month or two."

"Shit," Aang muttered to himself. "Well, I guess we'll just have to stop your father before then. Do you guys have any luggage or anything you want to bring with?"

Zuko shook his head. "We brought what we need, but if you could help us get a new set of clothes, it would be greatly appreciated."

"Of course," Aang nodded. "We've got plenty of extra clothes for you that we keep in case ours get burned or damaged. We'll get you all set up."

"Great," Zuko sighed in relief. "Now, do you want us to follow you there?"

Aang shook his head. "No, I've got it covered. Real quick just to be sure…" He took out a scanner and ran it over each of them to check for bugs. "Okay, all clear. Sorry, but I have to be extra careful."

"It's fine," Zuko waved him off. "I'd probably do the same thing if I were you."

Aang smiled a little. "Now, let's get going." He brought his wings back out and grabbed them with each hand. "Hold on tight!"

"Waaaaiittttt!" Zuko screamed as they launched into the air. He shut his eyes and waited for death to claim him, but nothing happened other than feeling the breeze in his face. Peeking one eye open, he gasped as he saw the city below him. "It's beautiful from up here!" he called to Aang.

"Yep! It sure is!" Aang agreed with a grin. "Sorry for scaring you, but you were going to be scared no matter what." He turned his attention to Mai. "Are you alright, Mai?"

Mai rolled her eyes while she looked down. "I'm fine! Zuko's the one who's scared of heights!" Aang laughed as Zuko grimaced. Finally reaching a rooftop of an old building, Aang landed and set them down.

"Um, not to be rude or anything, but this doesn't exactly look like a safehouse," Zuko said slowly.

"That's because it's not," Aang shrugged. "It's just one of our entrances to the safehouse."

Zuko looked around and saw nothing. "Okay… where exactly is the entrance then?" Aang walked over to an old vent and pressed a few buttons on it, making a hole in the roof slide open to reveal an elevator. "You have a functioning elevator in an old building?" Aang nodded. "How did you manage that?"

"I'll explain everything later," Aang waved them over as he walked to the entrance. "Here, you're gonna want to jump down with me." Zuko and Mai followed him and he brought them all gently down. As they landed, Aang walked over to the control panel and quickly punched in the code. The elevator went down as Zuko and Mai couldn't help but admire how fancy it was.

"How can you afford such a nice elevator?" Zuko wondered.

Aang shook his head as the elevator doors opened. "Like I said, I'll explain everything later. Right now we have to make sure that my friend doesn't kill you."

Zuko gulped as Mai snickered a little. "What do you mean?"

"I have a friend who wants to kill you," Aang laughed a little. "He hates all Agnis' because your father had something to do with his parents death. So I would suggest not doing anything suspicious unless you want to be zapped to ashes." Zuko got scared again, but nodded slowly and followed him out to the dark hallway with barely any lights on. After a few minutes, Aang pushed a button and a few tiles underneath them opened to reveal the living room below them. He jumped down and looked up to them. "Come on down! I'll catch you!"

Mai didn't hesitate and jumped down into Aang's arms, blushing a little as she looked into his gaze, making both Katara who had been sitting in a recliner and Zuko growl lowly in their throats. He put her down and looked up to Zuko. "Come on, man! The sooner you're on the ground, the sooner you don't have to jump!" Zuko hesitated for another moment before he finally jumped down and landed awkwardly in Aang's arms. "Nice jump! Eight out of ten," Aang joked as he set Zuko down.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Haha, very funny." Looking around, he noticed the people sitting around the living room, one giving him a hateful glare. "So, I assume that you're the one who wants to kill me?" Teo didn't say anything. "Well, I'm Zuko. And I'm going to do everything I can to prove that you don't need to kill me."

Teo scoffed, "Okay, whatever you say Agni." He walked straight up to Zuko and jabbed a finger in his chest. "Just know that if you do _anything_ to prove you're a traitor, then I have been given permission to take your life personally." Zuko gulped and looked to Aang who nodded silently. "So don't get any ideas if you want to live. Got it?" He nodded quickly "Good." Teo walked away and sat back down next to Sokka who gave him a high five.

"Alright," Aang laughed. "Now that the threat's out of the way, let me properly introduce you guys to the team. Everybody, this is Zuko and Mai. Zuko and Mai, this is Suki, Katara, Teo, and Sokka." They both awkwardly waved as everyone waved back.

"Welcome to the team guys!" Suki greeted them politely.

Mai groaned a little. "She's not like Ty Lee, is she? Because I thought I was getting away from Ty, not getting a new one."

"Who's Ty Lee?" Katara questioned.

"She's a friend of mine who _never_ stops talking," Mai drawled in annoyance. "I swear, if she wasn't my friend, I probably would have sealed her mouth shut by now."

Sokka snickered, "I think I can relate. Sometimes it feels like my sister never stops talking."

Katara glared at him. "You really want to talk, Sokka? Who was the one who kept me up all night talking about Su-"

"Okay!" Sokka interrupted her desperately as Suki looked at him in confusion and everyone else laughed. "How about we answer their questions!"

"I got none," Mai said simply.

Zuko raised his hand to Aang who nodded with a chuckle. "How do you afford all of this stuff?" he asked in amazement as he looked around.

"I hacked into celebrities' bank accounts and took small portions of money from them which to them is around a quarter million," Teo explained.

"That makes sense," Zuko nodded. "Okay, I'm all good now."

Aang grinned and turned his attention to them as he took off his hood. "So, now that you guys are here I might as well go over the ground rules. No fighting unless it's in training, guns must always be on safety unless it's in the shooting range, and if there are any problems, come to me and we'll sort them out. Sound good?" They both nodded. "Great. Now let's go get you guys a room and I'll give you a little tour of the place."

"Mind if I come with you?" Katara piped up.

He looked at her with a soft smile. "Of course not." He stuck his arm out to her. "Shall we?" Katara took it with a smile and they led the way over to the elevator when Zuko realized what Aang had meant about knowing what he meant. _So this is the girl he wants to protect?_ he thought in amusement. "You coming or what?" He snapped out of his thoughts and quickly entered the elevator. Aang punched in the code and sent them to the floor with their rooms. Giving them a quick tour, he walked over to their room and opened it for them. "Here you go. I assume since you guys are engaged that you share a room?" They nodded. "Alright, just promise that if you… _do anything_ that you'll be quiet. We don't need to hear anything. Deal?"

Zuko and Mai blushed in perfect sync and nodded. "We'll be quiet. Don't worry."

"Good. Now go ahead and get settled in and we'll have dinner in a couple hours," Aang told them. "See you then." He and Katara walked away, leaving Zuko and Mai in silence.

"So, you think Stormborn's attractive, huh?" Zuko tried to be nonchalant but failed miserably.

Mai rolled her eyes and kissed him on the cheek. "Come on, Zuko. There might be other attractive guys in the world, but you know that you're the only one for me." Zuko didn't look so sure. Rolling her eyes again, she pulled him into a heated kiss which he melted in. After a couple minutes, she pulled away and laughed at the dreamy look on his face. "I promise Zuko, no matter what, you're the only one for me."

Zuko finally smiled. "And you're the only one for me, My Love." She smiled back and they walked into the room as Aang and Katara stepped out from around the corner.

"Aww, that was so cute" Katara said with her arm still around his.

Aang smiled a little. "Yeah, they sure do love each other." He looked to her with a smile, making her smile back. "Come on, how about we go tease Sokka and Suki some more?"

"Sounds good to me!" she grinned. They walked back to the elevator and stood there for a moment as he looked at her. "What?" she asked curiously. He leaned down and gave her a long kiss on the cheek, making her blush heavily. "Oh."

He chuckled, "Well since you've been kissing my cheek, I figured I should return the favor."

She just smiled as she looked up at him. "No complaints here." The elevator doors closed as they both contemplated how much longer they would last keeping their feelings a secret.


	7. Chapter 7: The Missing Piece

Chapter 7: The Missing Piece

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

Aang sighed as he shook his head. _Is it _really _too much to ask for people to be on time for training? _he thought as he waited for Zuko and Mai to get there. _Even Sokka has been showing up on time. Then again it's their first day, so I'll give them the mandatory slack for today._ It had been two weeks since the Aquas had joined their group, so he figured he should give the awkward couple a break since they were brand new. A few minutes later, Zuko and Mai came walking in yawning in their combat clothes, looking like they had just woken up which they likely had. "Alright, now that you guys are here, I have to tell you what I've told everyone else," Aang said. "Your first day you get one a grace period of being late, but starting tomorrow if you're not here on time, I'll dump freezing cold water on you until you show up on time. Just so you guys know. Understand?" Their eyes widened in shock but nodded quickly. "Good. Now as you can see we have all the equipment you would ever need for training here and if you look over there, we have a sparring ring where we practice fighting. Today we'll skip over the exercise part and just do our stretches before we go out there and see what you've got. Any questions?" They shook their head. "Good. Now copy Suki and Teo, they know what to do." Everyone did their stretches as Zuko and Mai stood behind them.

"Okay everybody!" Suki called over her shoulder. "We're going to do some more advanced stretches. Lean down and touch your toes!" She leaned down and touched her toes, giving Zuko a good view who blushed and quickly leaned down, trying his best to get that image out of his mind. "Hold it! Hold it! And… you can go back up now." Everyone except Aang let out a sigh of relief, due to the fact that he did that every day since he was five. "We'll do one more stretch since I'm eager to kick Teo's butt again today," she joked, making Teo groan. "Sit down on your legs and hold it for twenty seconds! If any of you stop before I say so, I'll personally slap you in the face and go again until you do it right!"

Katara rolled her eyes as they all go into position. "She seems a little _too_ much like a drill sergeant if you ask me," she whispered to Sokka.

"Yeah I know," he whispered back dreamily. Katara just rolled her eyes and looked to her left, admiring Aang in his perfect form. He felt eyes on him and looked over to see her watching him. She blushed heavily as he laughed and squeezed her hand, making her smile happily that he didn't think she was weird for watching him.

"And… time!" Suki called as Zuko and Mai sighed in relief. They all finally got up and walked over to the sparring ring.

Aang walked to the center of the room as they all lined up. "Alright everybody! Normally I would make us go straight into training, but I have some congratulations to hand out today." Everyone was silent, curious as to what he had to say. "Katara and Sokka," he looked at them. "You have both done very well since you have joined us, exceeding expectations and have learned enough to be trained with the blades." Walking over to another part of the room, he took out two bracers from a crate and handed it to them. "These are your weapons now. Go ahead and put them on." They did so while Sokka jumped up and down excitedly, making everyone in the room laugh. "Now, flex your wrist and it should come out."

Katara flexed her wrist and sure enough the blade came out. "Wow," she breathed. "This thing really is amazing."

Sokka flexed his as well. "This… is… AWESOME!" he exclaimed, once again causing laughter.

"Well I'm glad you like it Sokka," Aang chuckled as he patted him on the back. "We'll do some blade training while Suki and Teo show Zuko and Mai some basics to start. Is that alright with you guys?" They all nodded. "Good. Now if you guys will follow me." He walked over and grabbed a bracer for himself and walked over to the opposite end of the room where a bunch of different dummies were set up. They finally stood in front of a balcony that had a dummy in front of it. Turning around, he smiled at them. "Alright, the first lesson we have for today is what I call the 'air strike'. It's what Suki and I used when we saved you guys in that alley."

Sokka gasped. "That sounds awesome!" he said excitedly.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Could you be any more of a child, Sokka?"

He stuck his tongue out at her while Aang sighed. "Come on, guys. Let's just focus here please?" They nodded and were silent. "Great. Now, it's not hard to get down, but it is scary the first few times. Especially when your jumping down from a three story building." They both gulped a little but continued watching him as he jumped up to the balcony. "Now, the whole point of this idea is so that you get the drop on your target. And let's be honest, no one ever looks up to rooftops for people, so no one will ever see you coming. The most important thing you need to know about this move is to make sure you land on your target, otherwise you're probably going to break some bones unless you do another move which I'll also show you. Now watch me." He moved over to the ledge of the balcony and crouched down before jumping and landing on the dummy with his blade in its throat. "See? It's as simple as that. For the first few times, I'll be here to catch you in case you misjudge your jump."

"Wait a minute," Katara objected. "Why are we doing _this one_ first? I thought you would start us off with something easy."

He shook his head. "The best way for this kind of training is to get the hardest one out of the way. All of the other moves I'll end up teaching you are simple and don't involve something as risky as jumping from a rooftop. By getting this down now, you'll have nothing but confidence as you learn the rest," he explained as he put the dummy back up. "I'll show you guys one more time and then we'll see how you guys do." Making his way back up there, he perched on the ledge again and repeated his motion, executing it with grace and efficiency. "Alright, now let's try it with you guys. Who wants to go first?"

"Me! Me!" Sokka raised his hand while jumping up and down. Katara rolled her eyes but didn't say anything as Aang motioned for him to come up.

"Now, what you guys don't know about all our blades is that they also have rope launchers," Aang told them as he took off his bracer and showed it to them. "If you look here," he pointed to a button with a spearhead on it and pressed it, making a small spearhead come out of it, "you'll see this, which is what you use to get up on a building when you're not an airbender. You need to aim at a firm point of a building and then press the button again to make it go up. Like this," he said as he aimed it towards the top of the balcony and shot it, hooking it into the wall and zooming up there. "Got it, Sokka?" Sokka nodded excitedly. "Good, now come on up here." Sokka activated it and aimed up there, but got a little too close to Aang as it shot inches away from his face. "Do me a favor and watch where you're aiming buddy!"

Sokka smiled sheepishly. "Sorry!" He pressed the button again and was whisked away on the launcher pulling him up, screaming a little in surprise. Aang laughed as he smacked into the wall, not thinking about having to stop himself before it happened.

"You alright buddy?" Aang asked between laughs.

"I'm fine," Sokka moaned as he rubbed his face. "That just really hurt." Finally regaining his composure, he shook it off and followed Aang to the edge.

"Alright," Aang started. "You're going to do what I did. I'll be down here to catch you in case you misjudge your jump. Sound good?" Sokka nodded in response while Aang jumped down. "Whenever you're ready!" Sokka took a deep breath and eyed the dummy before taking the leap. His calculations were right on as he landed on the dummy and stuck the blade in its throat. "Good job, Sokka!" Aang congratulated him, making Sokka beam in pride.

"Thanks! Now let's do it again!" he said excitedly as he attempted to move, but Aang held him in place.

"Sorry buddy, but Katara needs to get one in before you can do more, okay?" Sokka nodded with a sigh of defeat as Aang turned to Katara. "Are you ready for this?"

She played with her hair a little. "I don't know… that's a pretty high jump… and these shoes aren't really right for it and I-"

"Take my hand," Aang demanded politely with a smile.

Katara was reluctant for another moment before she looked up and smiled back. "Okay." She grabbed his hand and followed him over to where he had shown Sokka how to use the rope launcher.

"Okay, now go ahead and activate your rope launcher and aim it up there," he pointed to where Sokka had aimed his. "Whenever you're ready, Kat." She did as she was told and shot it up into the wall, tugging on it to make sure it was secure. "Good, now go ahead and press that button whenever you're ready." She was hesitant for a second, but the smile on his face gave her the confidence she needed. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the button and was quickly pulled up to it, this time stopping herself before she smacked into the wall. "Good job, Kat! You're already one step ahead of your brother!" Aang joked before jumping up to join her. "Alright, now since you're obviously more nervous about this, I'll show you one more time." She nodded and he executed it perfectly. Putting it back up, he stood underneath the balcony. "Whenever you're ready, Kat!" Taking a deep breath, she eyed the dummy and jumped. She had miscalculated however and veered off course. Fortunately for her, Aang was there and caught her in his arms as he smiled down at her. "You okay Kat?"

She laughed nervously. "Um… yeah. Just didn't really judge the jump well. Thanks for catching me," she thanked him with a kiss on the cheek, making him blush.

"No problem," he grinned as he set her down. "Like I said, I'll always be here to catch you." She smiled as she got lost in his eyes until Sokka groaned loudly.

"Can we get back to training, please?" Sokka asked in annoyance.

Katara snapped out of her daze and nodded. "Yeah, sorry Sokka," she told him, catching him by surprise. The last thing he would have expected for her to do was actually apologize. Walking over to her original spot, she quickly got herself back up there and looked down.

"You can do this Kat!" Aang encouraged her with a big smile. "I know you can! Especially if Sokka can do it!"

"Hey!" Sokka complained.

Katara giggled and smiled down at him, feeling completely reassured at his confidence in her. "Alright! Just be sure to catch me if I miss!"

"You know I will!" he told her with his signature grin. She smiled again and took a deep breath before jumping down and landing perfectly on the dummy with her blade in its throat.

"I did it! I did it!" she squealed excitedly as she ran over and tackled Aang in a hug.

He smiled and hugged her back. "See? I told you you could do it. All it took was a little confidence." She smiled and squeezed him tighter, not ever wanting to let go. It didn't last long unfortunately as Sokka grew impatient.

"Alright, break it up you two," Sokka rolled his eyes as he separated them. "Can we get back to training please?"

"Sure thing," Aang smiled. "We'll do this a few more times and then I've got one more move to show you guys." They nodded and went through a few more tries each until he was sure they had it down. "Good job guys! That was the hardest thing, so it's all downhill from here."

"Cool," Sokka sighed in relief. "So what's next on the list?"

"I'm going to show you how to fall from long distances without getting super hurt," he responded as he jumped back up. "Observe." He jumped down and rolled as he hit the ground, saving him from getting any damage. "Got it?" They nodded. "Cool. You don't have to try it since it's pretty self-explanatory, but it never hurts. Either of you want to try it?"

Sokka shook his head. "I think we're good. What else you got?"Aang motioned for them to follow him and they did. Walking over to another part of the room, they noticed a dummy standing in the middle of that section of the room.

"Okay, now that you guys got the worst one out of the way, we'll go back to basics," he explained as he walked up to the dummy. "There are many parts of the body, but only a few that will cause a quick and as painless as possible death. The throat, the heart, and the brain." Sokka raised his hand. "Yes, Sokka?"

Sokka put it back down. "What about the gut? Isn't that a quick death?"

Aang shook his head. "No, it's a slow and torturous death. It will shut down many of your organs, but it will hurt like hell and be so slow it'll feel like you're crawling towards death. It's nowhere near as fast as the three I've mentioned." Sokka nodded in response. "So that's what we aim for when we take out our targets. Any questions?" They shook their heads. "Okay then. Let's get started with the throat. I either slice it open or stab them through it, and neither are really ideal for saving blood. Like so," he said as he demonstrated. "Keep in mind that when you're sneaking up on someone and want to be quiet, you're going to want to silence them, so you're going to want to put a hand over their mouth so their scream doesn't alert anyone else. There's no need to show where to stab the heart, as it's in between the pectorals. Now the brain's a little more complicated."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked in confusion.

"The brain can still function if you don't get it in the right spot," he explained as he pulled out a chart of the human brain. "If you stab it on either side of it, then it's possible that it can still function enough to survive. When you're aiming for the head, you have to get basically right between the eyes and slightly above. Otherwise you risk getting caught. Does that make sense?" They nodded as he wrapped up the chart and put it back in the dummy's pocket. "Good. Now why don't you guys give it a shot?"

Katara stepped up first this time, wanting badly to make up for her fear from the last time. "I got this." Aang gestured for her to step behind the dummy and she did so.

"Whenever you're ready, Kat," he told her. She nodded and took out her blade, stabbing it precisely in the heart, then on to the throat where she practiced stabbing and slicing, then on to the head where she stabbed it directly in its center. "Good job!" Aang congratulated her with a smile. She smiled back happily and moved back towards Sokka. "Your turn Sokka." Sokka walked up and mimicked her, getting just as she had except for in the head. "You're gonna want to go just a little more to the right, buddy. If you stab there, then you'll likely end up taking out his recognition, but they'll still be able to cry out in pain." Sokka adjusted and Aang nodded in approval. "Good. Now you guys have got that down."

"When do we get our jackets and stuff?" Sokka asked.

Aang snapped his fingers. "I forgot about that. Follow me guys," he waved to them. Sokka bounced in excitement while Katara played it cool, but she was honestly excited too. It was the next step in their training and proved that they were making good progress. They followed him out to the training room where Zuko was sparring Suki and Teo was sparring Mai. Mai had Teo on his toes while Suki was clearly playing with Zuko.

"Come on, Zuko!" Suki taunted. "Is that all you got?" Zuko became angry and tried to kick her from behind but she caught his leg and sent him reeling backwards into a distracted Mai, making them both land awkwardly face to face on the mat.

"Um, hi," Zuko chuckled nervously.

Mai smiled a little and rolled her eyes. "Well hello there," she drawled sarcastically. "Mind getting off of me?"

"Oh yeah," Zuko laughed and got up while offering a hand to her. She took it and they looked back to see everyone else laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked indignantly.

Aang just walked up to him and gave him a hard pat on the back, making Zuko wince. "Nothing man, nothing." He turned his attention to everyone else. "Alright guys, that's enough training for today. You guys go get breakfast and we'll meet you down there soon. We're going to get Katara and Sokka their jackets."

"Congrats, you guys!" Teo cheered.

Suki rolled her eyes, still not proud someone so new had managed to almost catch up to her. "Congratulations, I guess," she grumbled.

Aang laughed and walked over to her with a hand on her shoulder, making her heart pound rapidly in her chest. "Don't be that way, Suki. You're doing great too, they just happened to catch up a little faster than usual. If it helps at all, you'll always have seniority to them."

She smiled a little, happy to know that. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she agreed with a smile. Sokka noticed her eyes shining at Aang and growled lowly in his throat but didn't do anything. Katara noticed this as well and quickly walked up to Aang.

"Come on, Aang!" she said a little desperately. "I really want to get my jacket!" Aang laughed as she dragged him out of the room with Sokka not far behind. Sokka looked back to see Suki looking at him with those same shining eyes, making him confused. Shaking it off, he resumed following them as Aang led the way to the elevator.

"So where do you keep your jackets and stuff?" Sokka asked curiously as they entered it.

Aang punched in the code and the elevator went up. "We keep it in our armory."

Sokka's jaw dropped. "You have an _actual armory_?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Aang smirked. "It never hurts to be prepared. Though we do have to be careful while we're in there," he admitted.

"Why's that?" Katara wondered. The door opened to reveal a huge room filled with guns and explosives, some that looked like they were from a hundred years in the future.

Aang laughed at their awed expressions as he walked in. "_That's_ why. We have so many dangerous weapons in here, if we're not careful we'll end up blowing the place up, and us along with it." He looked directly at Sokka. "So do _not_ touch anything unless I say it's okay. Even _I'm_ not authorized to touch all of this stuff."

Sokka's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yep," Aang grinned. "Some of the stuff in here is experimentory and not stable, and Teo's the only one who knows enough about them to not set them off. So can you do that for me?" Sokka didn't say anything for a moment as he was entranced by a glowing sphere to his right. "Sokka!"

He finally snapped out of his daze and nodded. "Yep! Got it!" Aang didn't look so certain, but he shrugged and led the way over to another room that appeared to be where they kept their clothing.

"Come on in guys," Aang opened the door for them. Sokka blew right past him but Katara stopped to thank him with a kiss on the cheek before she walked in, making him blush down to his neck. Shaking his head at himself, he followed them in and pressed a few buttons on a control panel, bringing out a rack of jackets from a concealed wall. "Go ahead and take your pick but consider that you might want one that's not going to stand out so much," he advised as he took a step back.

Katara walked up and looked through it until she found a leather jacket with a blue hood that was her size. Smiling, she quickly put it on and looked at herself in the mirror. "I like it," she thought aloud as she put her hood on. Turning around, she looked to Aang for approval. "So… what do you think?"

Aang smiled and put her hood down for her. "I think you look beautiful, Katara." He blushed as he realized what he said. "I mean it looks beautiful on you," he amended quickly. "I mean…"

She just smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Well thanks. I like it too." She put her hood back on and looked in the mirror again, smiling as she saw him watching her.

"Look at me guys!" Sokka said proudly as he came into view with his own jacket with a darker blue hood. "I'm a real hero now!" he exclaimed with his hands on his sides.

Aang smirked and shook his head. "Not yet, buddy. You still have some more training to do. Though at this rate, all four of you will 'graduate' in a couple of weeks."

Katara gasped in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah," Aang smiled. "Everyone has been doing so well that I don't have too much left to teach you guys. Soon you guys will be teaching our new recruits."

Sokka pumped a fist in the air. "Awesome! This Padawan will soon be a Jedi!"

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. "Sokka, will you _ever_ stop talking about that lame movie?"

"It's not lame!" Sokka defended angrily. "Just because you find it lame doesn't make it so! You think playing Minecraft is lame, but it's not!"

Aang stepped in before they could continue. "Okay guys, let's wrap up this argument." He paused and snickered as he looked to Sokka. "And sorry to break it to you, but Minecraft _is_ lame."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he scoffed. "Of course you would agree with her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aang asked with furrowed brows. Before Sokka could respond, Aang's earpiece buzzed, interrupting their conversation. "What's up, Teo? Yeah we'll be there soon. Sokka and I are just having a little spat about Minecraft," he joked, making the twins laugh. "Alright, we'll be there soon." He hung up and looked at them. "Alright, before we go get breakfast, we need to get you both a gun."

Katara's eyebrows raised in surprise. "We're getting guns already?"

Aang nodded as he walked out of the room and over to a row of guns. "Yep, you guys will need them in case you lose your weapons or you run out of water to bend," he explained as he put in a code and a shelf of pistols came out. "Take a look, but remember: You only get to pick one, so choose wisely." Sokka went up first again and eyed a beautiful golden desert eagle.

Katara shook her head at her brother. "Really Sokka?" she drawled sarcastically. "You're going to go for _another_ desert eagle? Do you remember what happened the last time that you used one?"

"I know what I'm doing," Sokka shot back as he picked it up and admired it. "I'll go with this one," he told Aang.

"Are you absolutely sure, Sokka?" Aang asked seriously. "You won't get a second chance to pick."

Sokka nodded. "I'm sure. This thing is amazing. Now all I need is some skull stickers and it'll look even cooler!"

"This isn't a toy Sokka," Aang told him as he took the gun from him and took the safety off. "It's an actual killing machine. One wrong move could make you end your own life, so don't treat it like it's a toy gun. Okay?" Sokka pouted a little but nodded in understanding. "Good." He turned his attention to Katara. "Go ahead and take your pick, Kat."

She smiled and walked up to it, looking around until a smaller pistol with a silencer on it caught her eye. Picking it up, it fit perfectly in her hand as she aimed it at a mirror on the other side of the room. "I'll take this one," she told Aang.

"Good choice, Kat," Aang complimented her. "Before I decided to not use guns, that was the kind of gun that I used."

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

Aang grinned. "Yep. I wanted something that would be quiet and easy to take out, but it was a little small for my hands as was proven when I had my accident with it. It's not the same gun, but it's the same type."

"Cool," she smiled and admired it. "This should come in handy."

Sokka looked for a place to holster it on his jacket but could not find any. "Where are we supposed to put these things?" he asked.

Aang walked over to the otherside of the guns and pulled out two holsters. "Here," he called as he tossed one to Sokka and handed one to Katara. "There's some metal in your jackets for armor and these holsters are magnetic, so just attach them to the side and they should stick." They both did as he said and were amazed as they clung onto their jackets. "I should also mention that all our armor is bullet-proof."

"Wow," Katara breathed as she stared down at it. "No wonder these things are so heavy if there's metal in our jackets."

He just laughed and walked over to help her adjust the holster. "Yeah, sorry about that but you'll get used to it. Especially when you're running around on rooftops for hours. That's going to be the best workout of your life."

Sokka groaned as he shifted his holster to make it straighter. "Sounds fun," he said sarcastically.

"Hey, you signed up for this," Katara chided.

"I know," he admitted. "I'm not regretting it, but I'm definitely not looking forward to running on rooftops for hours." A thought popped into his mind. "Wait, what about for you benders?" he wondered.

Aang became confused. "What do you mean, Sokka?"

"I mean for when you guys need to practice bending," Sokka said as if it was obvious. "Don't you need a place to train?"

"Oh," Aang nodded in understanding. "We do have a training area for bending, but it's under construction right now."

Katara's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You have someone working on this place right now?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. They've been working on it for the last few months or so. Why?"

"I don't know," she shrugged in return. "I've just never seen or heard them. It's just a little surprising is all."

"Well each floor is twenty feet apart and they come really early in the morning so no one will be suspicious," he explained as he walked over to the elevator. "I can show you guys if you want."

Katara nodded eagerly. "Yes please!" she nearly begged as she followed him to the elevator.

Sokka shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's not like we've got anything else better to do." Aang and Katara snickered as Sokka had forgotten about breakfast. "What?" he questioned.

"Nothing Sokka," Katara said between giggles. "You'll find out later." Sokka still looked confused, but he just rolled his eyes and joined them in the elevator. Aang put in the code and sent them upwards. "What is the code by the way?" she asked curiously.

"It's 3373," Aang told her. "Just do me a favor and don't tell Zuko and Mai that yet. We'll tell them what it is once they've gotten to where you guys are."

Katara thought about the numbers for a moment. "Your code translates to 'free'," she thought aloud.

He nodded. "That's right."

"Why is that?" she wondered.

"Because I want those of us who know the code to remember why we fight," he smiled as he looked at her. "We fight for our freedom and the freedom of those who can't fight for themselves. As long as we remember that, then we'll keep on fighting."

She smiled back. "Well that makes sense." Taking his hand, she gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm proud to be fighting with you, Aang. If I could follow anyone into battle, it would definitely be you."

He smiled widely and hugged her this time, taking her by surprise until she returned it with a happy sigh. "I'm proud to have you on our team, Kat. You're a true warrior, and the most amazing girl I've ever met. Never forget that," he whispered in her ear.

"And don't you forget what an amazing leader and person you are, Aang," she whispered back. "I've never met a guy like you before. You're amazing in every way. Never forget that." They pulled back and smiled at each other while Sokka just rolled his eyes. The elevator finally opened and Aang reluctantly pulled away, causing Katara to whine at losing his warmth.

"This is our bending practice room," Aang gestured as they stepped out of the elevator. The room was just as big as the other floors they had been on. Each corner of the room was different. One was green and was filled with Earth, another was red and had flame resistant dummies, the next one was orange and had a defense stations and several chandeliers to climb around on, and the last was blue and had several tanks full of water that came from the pipes of the building. "As you can see, each corner of the room is for each of the elements which only I've used so far, but now you, me and Zuko can use this. Once it's done that is," he amended.

Katara looked around in amazement. "It's beautiful. I can't believe you guys have so much stuff." Then a question came to mind. "How big is your whole safehouse, Aang?"

He took a moment to think about it. "Well, this half of it is about half the city and so is the other half, so I guess it's as big as the city," he thought aloud.

"What?!" Sokka asked in surprise.

"It's about as big as the city," Aang repeated himself.

Sokka shook his head in disbelief. "I know that you take money from rich people, but exactly how much money have you taken if you have a safehouse that's city-wide?"

Aang thought more into it. "Um… probably around two billion," he admitted sheepishly.

Katara's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah," Aang chuckled as he walked further in. "It's not like we just went after one celebrity. Do you know how many rich and snobby celebrities there are?" They both shook their heads. "Thousands of them. Now let's do the math. Two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars from a thousand celebrities over eight years. That adds up to about two billion, and we'll be getting more in about…" he checked the calendar on his phone. "A week."

"Wow," Sokka breathed. "If you guys are getting that much money, why don't you just pay off the corrupt officials so they _don't_ do anything?"

"Because the Agnis' pockets are deeper," Aang explained as they walked down a hallway extending past the bending room. "We've actually tried, but the Agnis' always managed to offer more, so we eventually just gave up."

Sokka frowned as they walked down. "Well that sucks," he said.

Aang laughed as they reached the end of the hallway. "Yeah, but we don't bother complaining about it. Complaining won't help people, so we save the complaining for people who don't know anything else."

"He's talking about you Sokka," Katara teased as Aang opened the door for them. They both walked in and were surprised to see a construction crew working on a large room that was half done. Judging on what was completed, they could only assume that it was a solitary room. "Why are you making a solitary room?"

He was silent for a moment. "Being a Stormborn can be great sometimes, but there's always a price for having great power," he finally said lowly, catching their interest immediately. "And one of those catches is what we call the Stormborn Effect."

Sokka became confused. "The 'Stormborn Effect'? What is that?"

"It's sort of a defense mechanism for Stormborns," Aang explained as he started walking up to a woman who was ordering around other workers. "When we become angry or hurt, we sort of… phase out of who we are and are temporarily taken over by our ancestors who defend us."

Katara snapped her fingers. "Like in the story of how the Stormborns were made nearly extinct. The guy who lost it when his family member died was in so much pain that he caused an Earthquake that took out half the world. That's the Stormborn Effect?"

Aang nodded solemnly. "Yeah, that's right. If it wasn't for that stupid war, maybe my people would still be around." He shook his head with a sigh. "No point thinking about it now. There's a lot more important things to worry about." Before Katara could ask more, they finally reached the construction crew. "Toph! Come on over for a second!"

The woman who was bossing everyone around stopped and turned around. "You should know better than to order me around Twinkle Toes!" she yelled as she made her way over.

Sokka snickered. "Twinkle Toes? She calls you Twinkle Toes?"

Katara slapped him on the back of the head. "Shut up, Sokka!"

Aang put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry about it, Kat. I don't mind it. She comes up with a nickname for all of her friends." He returned his attention to Toph. "Toph, meet my new friends and new recruits Katara and Sokka. Katara and Sokka, this is Toph. The owner of the construction crew responsible for everything here."

"Damn right I am," Toph said proudly. "Everything you see here was designed by me and put together by my boys."

"Well you guys did a great job," Katara admitted as she looked around the room.

Toph smirked. "Thanks Sugar Queen. I'll be sure to tell them that."

Katara's brows furrowed. "Sugar Queen?" she asked in disbelief.

"Because you're as sweet as sugar," Toph explained with another smirk. "Now, who's this guy?" she jabbed a finger in Sokka's gut.

"Like I said," Aang interrupted before Sokka could say anything, "his name is Sokka, Katara's brother."

Toph just looked at him and waited. "Well? Are you going to say something or what?"

"What's there to say?" Sokka asked curiously.

"Like who you are, what you like, any embarrassing habits of yours," Toph explained with a roll of her eyes.

Katara smirked as she looked at Toph. "Well, he sleeps a lot and likes to eat meat. Does that help at all?"

"Hmmm," Toph hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not sure whether to settle on Meathead or Snoozles. Maybe both," she said with a smile. "Eh, I'll figure it out later." She returned her attention to Aang. "So what are you doing down here, Twinkle Toes? Miss me already?"

He just laughed and shook his head. "No, I was just showing these guys the bending room and wound up here I guess."

Sokka looked at Toph. "So you own a construction crew, huh?"

"Yup," Toph said smugly.

"Do you have an element you bend or do you just hurt people with your mean words?" Sokka asked sarcastically.

Toph snickered and punched him in the arm, making him rub it as he yelped loudly. "I Earthbend, Snoozles. My words are just insult to injury."

Katara looked at her curiously. "Well why haven't you joined our team then? You seem like you like to fight and you definitely seem tough enough."

"I never asked her," Aang answered for her. "Before I met you guys, the thought never even crossed my mind."

"What, are you offering a position on your team, Twinkle Toes?" Toph rolled her eyes.

Aang laughed before he stopped himself, taking everyone by surprise. "You know what? I think I am," he told her, taking her by even more surprise.

"What?!" she questioned with wide eyes.

"I'm asking if you want to join our team," Aang repeated himself with a grin. "Now that I'm more open to the idea of having people join us, I think you would make a great fit."

Toph didn't say anything for a moment, shocked completely into silence until she composed herself. "Well… I don't know…" she started unsurely. "I have this construction crew who would be lost without me and I'm not one for taking orders." Sokka snorted as Toph looked at him. "What's so funny, Meathead?"

"Nothing," he laughed. "It just seems like someone's scared," he teased, causing her to frown at him.

"I'm not scared! I'm not scared of anything!" she shouted in his face, getting spit all over him.

Sokka grimaced and wiped her spit off of him before resuming his taunting. "Oh yeah? Then why are you coming up with excuses like 'My crew would be lost without me' and 'I don't take orders'. Sounds like you're a chicken to me," he smirked with his arms crossed.

Toph became very angry. "I'm not chicken and I'll prove it!" She turned to Aang. "Fine, I'll join your team. But I want to go against this guy in a fight sometime over the next week so he can pay for calling me a chicken. Deal?" she asked as she stuck out a hand.

"Deal," Aang agreed with a grin as he shook it. Sokka gulped but remained wisely silent, trying his best not to anger the small Earthbender anymore than he already had. "If you have any stuff you want to bring with you, then go home after you're done here and bring it back to the entrance. We'll set you up with a room and make sure you have what you need. And this way you get to run away from your parents," he added, knowing that would seal the deal.

She grinned widely, "Now how could I refuse that? Alright, I'll be there tomorrow. Now get out of here, we have a lot of work to do and you guys are distracting me." Aang just laughed and motioned for the twins to follow him as he walked out.

"See you tomorrow, Toph!" he called over his shoulder. "Don't beat up your workers too much!"

"No promises, Twinkles!" she called back as she returned to her crew. They all finally left the room and made their way back to the elevator.

"So," Katara started as she moved next to Aang, "how long have you known Toph? You seem to be really close," she tried to hide the jealousy in her voice but failed miserably.

Aang shrugged. "Ever since Teo and I decided to start building a safehouse. She was the only one who understood discretion, so we got along really well. As time passed, I helped her with the designs and we became fast friends. Though if I'm being honest, I think she has a bit of a crush on Teo," he whispered lowly to her.

"Oh," she sighed in relief. "That's great!"

"What's great?" he asked in bewilderment.

She laughed nervously. "Um… nothing?" He looked like he didn't believe her, so she quickly turned the discussion in a new direction. "So, Sokka's going to have to fight her huh?"

Aang couldn't keep the grin off his face. "Yep. It was part of the deal and I'm a man of my word."

"What about my word?" Sokka interjected. "I never agreed to this!"

"If you had a problem with it, you should have said so when we were making the deal," Aang told him without remorse. "Sorry buddy, but you're going to have to fight her." Sokka's demeanor dropped, making Aang chuckle. "Don't worry, she won't kill you or anything." Sokka perked back up a little. "Probably," Aang amended with another grin.

"Great," Sokka sighed sarcastically. "First the girl I like doesn't like me, and now I have to fight a master Earthbender. Life sucks," he pouted as his demeanor resumed its pity walk.

Aang stopped him and made him look him in the eye. "Sokka, get yourself together man!" he slightly yelled as he slapped him across the cheek.

"What was that for?!" Sokka asked angrily as he rubbed the offended cheek.

"You need to pull yourself together," Aang repeated himself. "You'll be just fine in your fight with Toph. The sooner it's over with, the sooner you'll see that you'll survive. And as for the Suki situation, I think that she does like you."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "She doesn't like me, she likes you!"

"She likes both of us," Aang amended. "I know that she has feelings for me, but I've seen the way she's been looking at you lately. She likes you too."

Sokka's face lifted a little. "You really think so?"

Aang nodded with a smile. "I know so. It's written all over her face. And you don't have to worry about me getting involved with her, because I don't think of her in that way."

"Why don't you think of her in that way?" Sokka asked curiously. "She's tough, a fighter, and she's gorgeous. Why wouldn't you think of her in that way?"

He just shrugged. "I don't know." He peeked a glance over at Katara as she played with her blade, making him smile at her. "I guess you can say someone else has my heart," he whispered softly.

Sokka followed his gaze and smiled in understanding. "I see. Do you want me to tell her?"

Aang shook his head. "No, if I do ever tell her, I'll be the one to do it. Besides, I shouldn't even have feelings for her in the first place. I vowed to forsake romantic feelings to ensure that the city is in safe hands."

"Did you ever consider that having romantic feelings can help you have more motivation for protecting the city?" Sokka whispered back seriously. "People who go to war, they do it because of one reason and one reason only: Love. Whether it's love of money, family, or their partner, love is what drives us to do what we do. Just keep that in mind, buddy," Sokka told him with a pat on the back as he started walking back to the elevator, leaving Aang in his thoughts.

Katara walked up and took his hand. "Are you coming with, Aang?" she asked with a smile.

He snapped out of his thoughts and smiled back. "Yeah, sorry. I was just lost in my thoughts for a moment there."

She squeezed his hand. "Well you know you can talk to me whenever you need someone to talk to. I'll always be here for you. Okay?" He nodded as she smiled and tugged him. "Come on, let's go get something to eat." He followed her to the elevator and thought about what Sokka had told him. Could he be right? Should he think of love as his drive rather than a liability? Looking down at Katara who was smiling at him, he made his decision then. No longer would he think of Love as something that could hold him back, but as something that would encourage him to fight for what he loved. His freedom, his city, his friends, and now her. He took a deep breath, finally accepting what he had known since he had stayed the night with her in her room. _I'm in love with her,_ he thought with a smile as he looked down at her. They finally walked in as he put in the code. Before he could press the last button, he took Katara's hand that was still in his and gave it a long kiss, making her blush heavily. "What was that for?" she asked a little dreamily.

"For you just being you," he told her with a smile, making her beam back at him as the doors closed, leaving him wondering when he should tell her that he loved her.


	8. Chapter 8: An Unfair Fight

Chapter 8: An Unfair Fight

**Warning: There is a lemon in here that I wasn't really planning on having, but it's here all the same. Be warned. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

The following morning, Toph showed up along with her crew but did not join them, as she had now joined the team. She had made sure to appoint her number two as the leader of her crew, and was satisfied that he would lead them well. With that taken care of, she took the elevator towards the floor with the rooms and was surprised to find Aang already there. "Still just as much of an early bird as you were when I first met you, huh Twinkle Toes?"

He just laughed as he took her stuff. "Yep. Unless I'm out all night on a mission. That's the only time you'll see me attempt to sleep in."

"Hey! I can handle my own bags!" Toph argued defiantly.

"I know that," Aang acknowledged as he led the way down to the rooms. "But it's polite to do favors for your friends, especially when one of your friends is joining a team of illegal vigilantes."

Toph just scoffed at his words. "Please, it's not exactly like I haven't broken the law before. You remember Earth Rumble, right?"

"How could I forget?" he responded with a grin. "You kicked my ass in every round until I finally beat you."

"You only beat me because I was distracted," she protested as he opened the door for her.

Aang smirked as he looked back at her. "Then you probably shouldn't let yourself be distracted by Teo so easily," he teased, causing her to blush heavily.

"Shhh," she shushed him with a hand over his mouth. "He's right there," she pointed to her right.

"I know," Aang chuckled as he removed her hand. "That's the whole reason why I'm giving you this room," he admitted as he walked into the room.

Toph groaned and rolled her eyes as she followed him. "Of course you would do that. Even after all these years, you're _still_ trying to play matchmaker for me? Get a life, Twinkles."

He laughed and set her stuff down by her bed. "If you don't think hunting down bad guys and protecting a city is 'a life', then nothing else will seem like one to you."

"Damn right it won't," she snorted in agreement. Looking around slowly, she couldn't help but admire the room she had made. "Wow, I did a great job," she boasted proudly.

Aang rolled his eyes. "You might have had your crew make it, but _I'm_ the one who designed everything."

Toph just shrugged as she laid down on the bed. "So? This room wouldn't have ever been made if my crew hadn't been hired to make it."

"I guess you're right," Aang chuckled as he gestured to the bathroom. "Obviously you already know about the rooms, but I made sure to have your favorite brand care products in your bathroom."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You mean the stuff that smells like Earth?" He nodded as she smiled widely. "Thanks Twinkles!" she thanked him with a punch on the arm.

"You're welcome," he grumbled as he rubbed it. "Anyway, do you have any questions for me while I'm here?" She shook her head. "Cool. Well just so you know, we've got training at seven everyday and I expect you to be here on time or else I put freezing cold water on you until you come in on time."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You wouldn't dare," she threatened menacingly with a finger against his chest.

He just grinned and looked her in the eyes. "Try me." After a silent stare down, Toph finally gave up with a sigh.

"Fine," she gave in. "I'll show up on time. I'm used to getting up early anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter." Then a thought came to mind. "Wait, when am I going to get to fight that punk who called me a chicken? He needs some sense knocked into him," she growled while pounding a fist into her hand.

"Oh don't worry, you'll get your chance today," Aang snickered. "It's going to be the best show we've had in a while, but there will be no bending to make sure that it's fair."

Toph scoffed, "How is that fair?"

Aang rolled his eyes. "What? Do you think you can't beat him without your bending?" he taunted, causing her anger to return.

"You know I can, Twinkles! Fine. It's on! I'm going to beat him up until there's nothing left but his stupid pony tail for me to keep as a trophy!" she bragged loudly.

"Be quite Toph!" Aang chided her. "Other people are still sleeping."

She snorted as she smirked at him. "Like who? Your girlfriend, Sugar Queen? Wouldn't want to wake her up, now would we?"

Aang blushed heavily as he covered her mouth. "Seriously Toph, people are sleeping and she's not my girlfriend! What are you even talking about?" he pretended to not know what she was accusing him of.

"Please, I saw the way you were looking at her," Toph laughed. "It was written all over your face. Don't even try it, Twinkles. You like her."

He gave up with a defeated sigh and nodded. "I do, okay? But I don't need her to know that right now when I don't even know if she feels the same, so can you please not say anything?"

Her wolfish grin spread all the way to her ear. "And what exactly are you going to offer for me to keep my mouth shut?"

"How about I don't tell Teo that you like him?" he countered, causing her grin to drop instantly. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Now go ahead and get settled. Remember: Training starts at seven! Don't be late," he whispered as he walked out of the room.

"Don't worry, Twinkles! I'll be there! I've got a ponytail douche to crush!" she called back as he closed the door behind him. Aang shook his head as he walked out, wondering just what he would have to deal with if Sokka and Toph would be at odds.

* * *

A couple hours later, everyone showed up on time for training, making Aang happy that he wouldn't have to feel like a jerk by dumping freezing cold water on anyone. With that satisfaction in his mind, he returned his attention to his trainees. "Before we start our training today, I want to introduce the newest member of our team… Toph!"

"Sup," Toph said nonchalantly as she looked at her new teammates. Everyone greeted her and they turned their attention back to Aang.

"Alright everybody! Today we've got a special treat for everyone except Sokka, so how about we get some stretches in before we do this?" Katara raised her hand. "Yeah, Kat?"

She put her hand down and smiled. "Is today the day that Sokka has to get his ass kicked?" she asked hopefully.

He grinned and winked at her, causing her heart to start pounding as he chuckled. "You know it is, Kat. After we get through our stretches, we'll have a show of a lifetime."

"Awesome," Katara grinned back. "I've been waiting for this for so long."

Sokka groaned and rolled his eyes. "Katara, this fight was set up _yesterday_. How could you possibly be waiting for it for so long?" he asked in annoyance.

She just shrugged with a laugh. "I've been waiting for someone to waltz right in and beat you up, Sokka. Is that the answer you were looking for?" she asked sarcastically.

"No, but that's the one I expected to hear," Sokka admitted. He looked over to Toph who made a slicing motion against her neck, making Sokka gulp loudly and turn his attention back to Aang.

"Toph," Aang said warningly. "You know better than to do that." He leaned into her and whispered, "Yet," making her smile widely before she gave in with a nod. "Alright then, let's do our stretches and move on to the big show!" Everybody except for Sokka cheered and quickly went through their stretches, very eager to see the biggest event to happen in the safehouse yet. Once they finished, they all walked quickly to the sparring room where Aang had already set up two foam walls for the event. Everyone else except for Aang, Sokka, and Toph sat down on makeshift chairs, chatting excitedly about who they thought would win.

"My money's on Sokka," Zuko whispered to Mai. "He's got size advantage, even if he's a headstrong goof."

Katara shook her head quickly as she joined in their conversation, "You don't know my brother as well as I do. He claims to have plenty of training in fighting, and I guess he does now that we've been here, but he tends to mess up stuff like this a lot. There's no way he's going to win."

"I hope he does," Suki added worriedly, starting to bite her nails a little. Katara gave her a weird look. "What?" she asked defiantly. Before Katara could answer, Aang had taken their attention.

"Ladies and not-so-gentle man!" Aang joked at Zuko's expense, causing Zuko to roll his eyes. "Today we have our first showdown since Suki decided that she wanted to beat up Teo!"

"And I did!" Suki called proudly, making everyone but Teo laugh who huffed angrily and crossed his arms.

Aang grinned and got back to business. "Anyway, we've got quite a show today! In this corner," he gestured to Toph who cracked her knuckles, "we've got… The Blind Bandit!" Katara raised her hand. "Yeah, Kat?"

Katara smiled at him before she remembered why she had raised her hand. "Why does she call herself 'The Blind Bandit' if she's not blind?" she questioned in confusion.

Toph smirked and took out a headband from her pocket and put it over her eyes. "This is why, Sugar Queen! I choose to fight blind, and that makes me The Blind Bandit. Got it?" Katara nodded in response. "Good."

"Okay then," Aang chuckled. "And in this corner, we've got…" he trailed off until he leaned into Sokka. "What's your stage name?"

Sokka looked confused. "My stage name?"

"Yeah," Aang nodded and gave him a "duh" look. "You know, like how wrestlers have their own stage names. Like 'The Boulder' in Earth Rumble?"

"Oh," Sokka said in understanding. He thought about it for a moment.

"Just call him 'The Meathead' so we can get started!" Toph yelled from her side of the makeshift 'ring'.

Aang shook his head. "No, he needs to be the one who decides what he's called." He returned his attention to Sokka. "So what'll it be?"

Sokka thought about it for another moment before he smiled widely. "Okay, you can call me 'The Sword Master'.

Aang didn't say anything for a moment before he shrugged and returned his attention to his friends. "And in this corner, we have 'The Sword Master'!" Everyone made a face at his chosen name but didn't say anything. He turned his attention to the two. "Before we do this, we've got to go over the rules. No biting, no scratching, no pulling each others' hair, no groin attacks, and no backing out. Whoever falls on the ground first loses. Are you guys ready?" They both nodded after Sokka took a deep breath. "Then begin!" Aang commanded before running over and sitting next to Katara, making her smile happily at him.

Toph cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck. "Are you ready for this oh mighty 'Sword Master'?" she taunted with a smirk. "Because I'm not going to go easy on you."

"Um," Sokka gulped as he looked to Aang. "Her Earthbending isn't allowed right?"

Aang shook his head. "Not the fighting part, but there is one exception to it." Sokka gave him a confused look. "I'll explain it later. Just know that she can't use her Earthbending to hurt you." Sokka was satisfied and turned his attention back to Toph.

"Bring it on!" he said a little more confidently, feeling more safe knowing that Toph couldn't pummel him with rocks.

Toph laughed and shook her head at him. "You don't know what you're getting into, Snoozles." Sokka took the initiative and ran up to give her a good punch in the face, but she felt him coming through her Earthbending and ducked as he ran into the foam wall.

"H-how did you know I was going to punch you if you couldn't see me?" Sokka asked in disbelief as he whipped around.

"Does it matter, Meathead?" Toph asked with a yawn. "Either way, whether I can see or not, you're _not _going to beat me. Now let's get this over with." Sokka gulped again but wisely decided to let her take the offensive. While Sokka and Toph waited for the other to strike, Aang was busy whispering to Katara.

"Do you really think that Sokka's going to piss himself?" Aang laughed as he watched Sokka get more scared as he waited for Toph.

Katara nodded with a smile. "He gets scared pretty easily when he's put in a situation like this. If he doesn't man up soon, he's going to piss himself." She paused and snickered. "I've scared him enough times to know that he does it _very_ easily."

Aang grinned and leaned back against the wall as they had decided to get away from the rest of the group. Without really thinking, he grabbed Katara and put her on his lap, taking her by surprise but she didn't resist as a smile came across her face.

"What's this for? You don't want to see Sokka get pummeled to a pulp?" Katara joked as she looked up into his eyes, hoping Aang would say something she wanted to hear.

The reality of what he had done finally caught up to him and he blushed in embarrassment. "Um… I don't really know why I did that, but I can set you down if you want," he offered awkwardly.

She shook her head quickly with her smile intact. "I'm just fine where I am, thank you though," she thanked him with a kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush but he smiled back and resumed watching the fight. Katara took his arms and wrapped them around her waist, making him blush heavily as she rested his hands on her stomach, but he enjoyed the feeling of holding her all the same and returned his attention to the fight with a smile as he rested his head on hers, making her smile as well.

"Come on, Meathead! Throw a punch already!" Toph exclaimed angrily as she had grown impatient at Sokka's unwillingness to throw another strike.

Sokka shook his head quickly. "No way! If I do, then you're going to beat me for sure! You want to win? Then you're going to have to attack me, because I'm not doing _anything_!"

Toph rolled her eyes. "Fine, if that's how you want it." She finally took the initiative and threw a strike to Sokka's chest who barely managed to block it. "Not bad, Snoozles. You just might be a decent fighter," she semi-congratulated him before resuming her attack. Toph then tried to kick at him, but he blocked her and tried to kick back but she just took his leg and flipped him, expecting him to fall on the ground for her victory. Unfortunately for her, Sokka had been expecting this and rolled himself enough to where he could land on his feet as Toph's eyes widened in disbelief. "How did you do that?" she questioned angrily.

He looked to the side to see Aang giving him a thumbs up and Suki giving him a big smile. "I've got some great teachers," Sokka grinned as he returned his attention to Toph.

Toph snorted and rolled her eyes underneath the blindfold. "Well let's see just how well they've taught you then." She tried to sweep him off his feet, but he just jumped and attempted to kick her from behind. This didn't work however, because Toph could feel his movements. Knowing she had won, she made sure that he would go down this time. With one final yank, she took the struggling Sokka by surprise and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him down to the ground.

"Sokka!" Suki cried worriedly as she ran over to him. Sokka just gave her a weak smile as he groaned in pain. "Are you okay?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, she just caught me by surprise when she slammed me on the ground is all," he assured her as he groaned at the pain in his leg that he had landed on.

Suki glared at Toph. "Did you _really_ have to do that, Toph? You could have broken his bones!"

Toph just shrugged as she took off her blindfold. "Sorry, Fan Girl. I don't really know what you want me to say. I was just trying to win."

"Yeah, but you could have won without slamming him to the ground," Suki growled back. She hoisted up Sokka and put his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Sokka. We'll get you patched up." Toph just rolled her eyes as Suki dragged Sokka away, leaving Aang and Katara to stand there.

"I would congratulate you Toph, but that was a pretty bad way to end it," Aang said with disappointment apparent in his tone.

She blew the bangs out of her eyes. "Hey, you told me the rules. You didn't say anything about me throwing him to the ground. Sorry your buddy got hurt, but he understood what he was getting into when he made fun of me."

Katara rolled her eyes. "That doesn't mean that you should just throw him into the ground. I'm surprised that you could even lift him off the ground," she admitted.

"What? Just because I'm small you don't think I'm strong?" Toph questioned angrily. Without another word, she walked over to the crate of blades and lifted it with one arm, causing Katara to gasp at her strength. "Size means nothing, Sugar Queen!" she called as she set it back down. Satisfied at the look on Katara's face, she walked out of the room. "I'm going to get breakfast. Peace!" she yelled just before she was gone.

Aang looked over to the awkward couple. "Well… that was interesting. Sorry that you had to see that, but it's kind of hard to keep Toph on a leash."

Zuko just shrugged. "Yeah, it looks that way," he agreed while he grabbed Mai's hand. "Thanks for the show! It was definitely… _interesting._ We're gonna go grab some breakfast." They walked out, leaving Aang and Katara alone in the sparring room.

"So… do you think Sokka will be okay?" Aang asked, trying to start up a conversation in the silence of the room.

Katara nodded. "Yeah, he'll be fine. Worst-case scenario, his pride is gone forever," she joked, making him chuckle. Her stomach growled, much to her embarrassment. "Breakfast sound as good to you as it does to me right now?"

His stomach growled at the mention of food. "I guess so," he laughed. He offered her his hand. "Shall we?"

She smiled widely and took it. "We shall," she agreed as they walked out of the room, hand in hand and ready to get something to eat.

* * *

Later that night, Aang stood out on the rooftop entrance watching the night stars. It had been such a long time since he had some alone time that he felt that he should escape from the group for a while. They would be just fine without him. He had always loved being out in the open. Breathing in the cool, fresh air. Enjoying the sounds of his city below him. And his favorite part, counting the stars for hours knowing that he would never be able to truly know how many were up there. Of course it seemed pointless to do so, but it was calming and gave him comfort and renewance from knowing that there were just some things that were out of his control, and that would just have to be okay. One thought in particular came to mind. His love for Katara. He had finally allowed himself to admit that he loved her, but he didn't know what to do about it. The fear of rejection kept him from telling her, but his heart screamed at him to do so every time he saw her face. _What am I supposed to do?_ he thought dejectedly. _How can I tell a girl that I love her when I don't know if she loves me back?_ "Hey Aang."

Aang whipped around with his blade out to see none other than Katara standing there. "Oh Katara," he sighed in relief as he let it go back into his sleeve. "It's just you." He paused in confusion. "How did you get up here? And how did you know I was up here?"

Katara shrugged as she walked up to him. "I got up here by taking the elevator," she explained.

"Okay, but you need to be able to jump up here from the elevator," he responded, becoming more confused by the second.

"I took some water from my water bottle and it used to carry me up," she told him.

Understanding flooded over him. "Okay, that makes sense. But how did you know I was up here? Only Teo knows where I go to think," he said in more confusion.

She laughed and sat down while patting for him to sit next to her which he did. "I don't know. You seem to like the air so much, so I figured you'd be at a high vantage point. And this is the only place I know of that you've been to, so I figured I would give it a shot."

Aang smiled at her. "Well you got it right on. Good job, Detective Katara," he joked, making her giggle.

"Why thank you," she gave him a half-bow. "But the real detective in my family is my brother." She paused to snicker. "Or at least that's what he likes to think, anyway."

He couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. "Oh yeah? He thinks he's a detective, does he?" he asked with a grin.

Katara nodded while she looked up at the stars. "Yeah… back when we lived in the South Pole, a large amount of seal jerky had gone missing, and Sokka claims that he did all of the detective work to track it down."

"Yeah? Did he figure out who took it?" he asked curiously.

"He said that it was old-man Jarko," Katara chuckled. "Even though he was right, I don't give him a lot of credit for that. Anyone who got close enough to Jarko could smell the jerky on him, so I just let Sokka have it so his pride doesn't get hurt."

Aang smiled as he glanced at her. "You really care about your brother, don't you?"

"Of course I do," she agreed with a smile. "I care about all of my family. Family are the only ones you can truly trust."

"I would normally agree with you, but considering Zuko's messed up family, I might have to slightly disagree," Aang told her honestly with a chuckle.

She laughed a little as she looked at him. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Well any family that's _not_ full of crazy dictatorship people are the ones you can trust. Even if my brother is a complete idiot, I know that I can trust him to be there for me when I need him, no matter how annoying he might get sometimes."

Aang smiled sadly. "It must be nice having a family. I don't remember much from when I had one."

Katara frowned a little. "What do you mean? You said that you came to this city when you were fifteen, right? How are you forgetting already?" she asked in confusion.

"Yeah, but I've been so busy over the last eight years, my memories of them are starting to fade away," he sighed as he laid down with his arms behind his head. "I remember what they look like and a few memories from when I was younger, but I'm starting to forget what they sounded like." He sighed again. "Especially my mother's voice. She had the most beautiful singing voice I had ever heard, and she would sing me a lullaby when I was little and I couldn't sleep."

Katara reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as she laid down as well. "I think I know what you mean," she admitted with a sigh. "It's been so long since I've seen my mom, I don't really remember what she sounded like." She laughed a little bitterly. "If it weren't for the pictures that we had, I probably wouldn't remember what she looked like."

He squeezed her hand this time, looking at her with sad eyes. "It's ironic, isn't it? The people we want to remember the most are the ones who seem to fade away from our memory."

"Yeah, unfortunately," she agreed sadly. She turned on her side and looked at him. "But now we have a new family. Each other. We'll always be there for each other, right?"

Aang smiled. "Of course. Always and forever," he agreed with another squeeze of her hand. He chuckled a little as a thought came to mind. "If you think about it, we're kind of a ragtag band of misfits."

Katara raised a brow. "Really? How so?"

"Me, you, and Sokka lost a family member before," he explained while rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. "I don't know if Zuko or Mai has, but I know that Zuko comes from a crazy family that didn't really want him. That makes him a misfit as well."

"What about Mai and Toph?" Katara asked curiously.

He thought about it for a moment as he returned his gaze to the stars above. 'Mai… she's sort of an outcast, but with her it's by choice. Her nature excludes herself from others and makes her not wanted by her peers, not that she cares I'm sure," he chuckled. "Now Toph, she's an outcast because she doesn't play by the rules. That and the fact that her parents basically kept her from society for all of her childhood, so she never got to make a lot of friends and is why she's so tough on the outside."

"I guess that makes sense," Katara said thoughtfully. "Well either way, we're a family now. Even if we're a family of misfits, we're a family. And we'll always have each others backs. Right?"

Aang smiled and squeezed her hand again. "Of course. You know I'll always be here for you."

Katara blushed a little but smiled happily. "And I'll always be here for you, too, Aang. Whenever you need me."

"Good to know," Aang responded with a grin. He looked into her eyes as she looked up at the stars. _She's so beautiful_, he thought. Against his better judgement, he asked the question that was on his mind. "Hey Katara? This might seem a little out of the blue, but did you ever have any boyfriends?"

Katara blushed as she looked over at him. "I had a couple, but there weren't many guys that I liked, so I only dated two."

"What was it like to date them?" Aang wondered. "I've never had a girlfriend before," he admitted sheepishly.

"Well…" Katara started off thoughtfully, wondering if she could steer the conversation in the right direction. "I can't say that I know a lot about dating, because I didn't date the two guys that I did date for very long."

Aang looked at her curiously. "How long did you end up dating them?"

Katara thought about it for a moment. "The first guy I went on two dates with before I decided that he was too boring, and the other guy I went on three dates with before I found out what a jerk he was." Aang gave her a confused look. "Oh, he was a sweet talker who seemed great but turned out to be a bully and had been in jail several times," she explained with a roll of her eyes.

"Did you ever get a first kiss from either of them?" he wondered.

She shook her head. "No, I don't kiss on the first few dates. It has to be after that before I'll kiss them, so I still haven't gotten mine."

"Me neither," he agreed with a sigh. "I wonder what it feels like. I've heard people say it's amazing, but I have no idea whether it is or not."

Katara smiled a little as a plan came to mind. "Well, if you're wanting to know what a kiss feels like, I can show you," she flirted lightly.

Aang gulped a little. "Um… I don't know, Katara…" he trailed off nervously.

She sat up and dragged him up with her, bringing him face to face and eye to eye. "Come on, Aang. It's not a big deal. One little kiss, just so that we both know what it's like. Please?" she begged with her big eyes.

"But you really want to just give away your first kiss to me?" he asked in disbelief. "Especially when it's not a real kiss?"

Katara nodded quickly, wanting badly to get started. "Yeah, I don't care who my first kiss is."

Aang rolled his eyes. "Well gee, thanks for that warm compliment. Glad to know that you don't think much of me," he said sarcastically.

"Oh no, no, no. That's not what I meant!" she exclaimed desperately, blushing heavily as she realized how offensive that sounded. "You mean the world to me, Aang. I didn't mean it like that at all, I swear!"

He was silent for another moment as he stared her in her eyes, wondering what he should do. _You've got the perfect chance to kiss her and you're hesitating? Do something you dummy!_ Having finally made up his mind, without another word he grabbed the back of her head and smashed her lips to his, sending a spark shooting through their systems as their lips connected. Their brains fried in the kiss, leaving them unable to think rationally. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he should stop, but he couldn't for the life of him. He loved the taste of her lips and he never wanted to forget it. Katara kissed him back as their hearts pounded rapidly in their chests, trying not to make it too obvious how happy she was at the moment. _Finally,_ she thought with a content sigh. She deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck while his came around her waist, pulling her as close to him as he could. After a few minutes, the need for air became too great and they pulled apart, staring silently into each others eyes as they attempted to catch their breath. "Um…" he finally said after getting enough air to speak. "That was… _interesting_."

Katara nodded with a breathless laugh. "Yeah, it was. Thanks for my first kiss, Aang. I'm glad that it was with you."

"Really?" he asked in disbelief. "Why would you be glad that your first kiss was with me?"

She chuckled nervously and looked down at her legs, trying to hide the burning blush on her cheeks and failing. "Well… you're just such a great guy, Aang. I'm happy that my first kiss was from a guy who's not boring or a jerk."

Aang was silent for a moment. "So you liked it?" he asked a little nervously.

"Yeah," she responded quietly. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but she was scared. What if he didn't feel the same? What if she told him and he got all weird on her because she loved him and he didn't return those feelings? She couldn't bear to lose him as a friend, even if she would never know if he felt the same or not.

He took a deep breath, slowly working up his courage before he lost it. "Um… Katara?"

She looked up at him with hope shining in her eyes. "Yeah, Aang?"

"I…" he started while rubbing his neck. "I need to tell you something. Something that I hope won't ruin our friendship, because your friendship means everything to me."

Katara smiled a little. "Aang, no matter what you say or do, I'll always be here for you. Just like I promised. Okay?"

"Okay…" he nodded reluctantly. He was silent for another moment. _I can't do this! I can't do this! I've never told a girl I _liked _her before, let alone love!_ Then Aang got angry at himself. _No! There's no backing out now. You ran away when your parents needed you, and you won't run away from this._ With newfound confidence in himself, he turned to look her in the eyes. "Katara, there's no easy way for me to say this, so I'm just going to get it out." Taking one last deep breath as he closed his eyes, he opened them to stare into her piercing cerulean ones. "I'm… in love… with you…" he forced out, shutting his eyes quickly, ready for the sting of rejection. There was nothing but silence for a moment, and he took that as the answer he expected. "I'll just get going now," he sighed as he got up. Before he could move, she shot up and grabbed him by his jacket and smashed her lips to his, taking him completely by surprise. His eyes sunk closed in bliss as he kissed her back, feeling on top of the world with Katara's lips on his.

She broke the kiss reluctantly to look him in the eyes. "I love you too, Aang."

His heart leapt at her words, but confusion was mixed in his emotions as well. "If you do, then why didn't you say anything when I told you?" he asked curiously.

"I was so shocked that you had just told me what I've wanted to hear since I first met you I couldn't think well," she laughed with a huge smile on your face. "But I do, Aang. I love you so much."

Aang smiled widely. "I love you too, Katara." Katara beamed again and smashed her lips against his once again, relishing in the sweet taste of his lips, finally getting what she had been wanting since the day she had met him. Their kiss was slow and passionate, both not really knowing exactly what to do, but after a few minutes they figured it out. Katara's legs felt like jelly from the kiss, and she eventually fell to the ground without breaking from the kiss. They rolled over so that she was on top of him, straddling his waist and putting both her hands on his face to hold him in place. Aang was reminded of his dream from when he had first spent the night with her. Only this time she wasn't in her bra and panties. They broke away for a moment to catch their breath only to jump right back where they left off, not wanting to stop until they couldn't anymore. Katara's tongue begged for entrance to which he awkwardly allowed, running purely on instinct at this point. She moaned into his mouth as the kiss sped up and became more desperate. After a few more minutes, the kiss became heated and Aang started kissing her neck, making her gasp as he trailed his way down her sensitive skin to her collarbone. He landed one kiss in just the right spot, sending all of the heat South as he continued his attack on her. She moaned loudly and brought his face back to hers, kissing him more desperately than before. Katara slowly pulled away after another few moments. "I want you, Aang."

Aang became confused for a moment before reality hit him. "What?!" he asked in shock, completely thrown.

Katara took his hand and used it to rub her through her pants, causing her to moan loudly. "I want you, Aang," she repeated.

"Right here? Right now?" he asked in disbelief. "What if someone finds us up here?"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Who's going to find us up here? No one else can use the elevator besides you and me."

Aang shook his head. "Teo has a way to getting up here. He has a secret staircase in the elevator that when pressed comes out so he can walk right up here."

"That's just great," Katara sighed sarcastically. Unfortunately for her, the fire in her loins was still burning. "I'll take my chances. I need you, Aang."

"I don't know, Ka-" she cut him off with a kiss that blew out all resistance, making him finally give in as she started rubbing his pants. He moaned loudly as he felt his rapidly hardening erection grow, feeling the lust take over. He attacked her lips again, making her smile as he attempted to quickly get her shirt off. She returned the favor and took his jacket off and quickly ripped off his shirt, loving the sight of his muscles. They kissed again until they couldn't take it anymore and ripped the rest of their clothing off of each other as quickly as they could. "You're beautiful," he breathed as his gaze went down her body.

"Thanks," she responded shyly. "You're not too bad yourself." She kissed him again and lowered herself to the ground with him on top. After kissing for a few more minutes, Katara couldn't wait anymore and grabbed his shaft. "You're huge."

He laughed a little. "Well thanks." She started bringing him to her entrance. "Wait, are you sure you want to do this, Katara? You only lose your virginity once."

She gave him a look. "Aang, I love you. I wouldn't want anyone else in the world to take it from me. Now shut up and make love to me." He finally gave in with a laugh and let her guide him into her. She gasped as his head went in, feeling her head start to swim with pleasure. "Oh my God," she breathed as he went deeper in her.

"Are you okay, Kat?" he asked in concern, not wanting her to be in any kind of pain.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him breathlessly. "It's just taking some time to get used to it." He finally reached her barrier and kissed her softly.

"This is going to hurt a little, so be ready Kat," Aang warned her. She nodded in response and he pushed through, making tears fall from the pain. "Hey, it's okay," he told her as he kissed her fiercely, trying to do anything he could to lighten the pain. After a few moments, the pain went away and was replaced by pleasure. She kissed him to signal that she was ready and he started slowly, not wanting to rush it. After a few more minutes of Katara's soft moans she looked up at him.

"Faster, Aang," she almost begged, making him smile.

"I love you so much, Kat," he told her as he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss to which she smiled happily. He picked up his pace and went faster, making Katara moan louder with every thrust. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso, locking him in place. "Oh Katara," he groaned as he went faster, feeling the ecstasy of being so close to her.

She panted heavily as his thrusts kept increasing in power and speed. "I'm getting close, Aang. Don't stop. Don't stop." He complied and pressed his body to hers as he kissed her neck, allowing him to thrust even faster, making her head swim with pleasure. It became too much for her and she quickly reached her end. "Aang!" she called out as she felt herself explode on him.

They both took a moment to catch their breaths, feeling like they had run a marathon. He laughed at the goofy expression on her face. "I take it that I'm doing decent so far?" he asked with a grin.

"You're doing way better than decent," she assured him as she pulled him in for a kiss to which he accepted eagerly. After a few minutes, they pulled apart and looked at each other. "Let's try something else." Aang shrugged and slowly pulled out of her as she got up on her hands and knees in front of him.

"I am the luckiest guy in the world," he breathed into her ear, making her shiver happily.

"Shut up and fuck me!" she demanded, making him laugh as he granted her request. He slowly re-entered her and gave her a few seconds to adjust as she moaned loudly, feeling him reach deeper than before. Once he was sure she was ready, he resumed his fast pace, making Katara gasp loudly and start moaning, feeling the pleasure take her over once again.

Aang groaned as his thrusts started picking up in power and speed. "You're so tight, Katara," he moaned.

"You're so big," she agreed breathlessly. Aang could feel his end coming quickly and he knew that she had to join him. Taking one hand off of her hips, he moved it down and rubbed her fiercely, making her scream a little as she slammed a hand over her mouth. "Aang, I'm going to cum soon," she moaned loudly.

"Me too," he moaned back. It eventually became too much for her, and she felt her final release. "Aang!" she called out loudly.

"Oh Katara!" he grunted as he finally felt his release and burst inside of her, making her gasp as his seed shot up into her. They both collapsed onto the ground and smiled weakly at each other. "That was amazing," he breathed.

She nodded with a huge smile on her face. "Yeah, it was."

Something pricked at Aang's mind. He knew there was something he had forgotten, but he didn't know what. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. "Uh oh," he gulped.

Katara looked at him curiously. "What's wrong, Aang? Is everything alright?"

He shook his head. "I didn't use a condom. What if you get pregnant? We can't have a kid yet. There's still so much left to do for the city, and I don't want to put a kid in danger because of my choices. What am I-" she cut him off with a kiss, shutting him up instantly.

"Relax, Aang," she laughed a little at his nervousness. "I've been on the pill since I was sixteen. I'm not going to get pregnant anytime soon."

Aang became confused. "If you've never had sex before, which I know you haven't because I've seen the proof, why do you take them?"

She shrugged. "It's just what my dad told me to do in case I ever found myself in a situation like this," she explained. "He wanted to make sure I didn't end up with a surprise pregnancy."

"Oh, that makes sense," Aang sighed in relief. He took her hand and kissed it. "Well good, I'm glad. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have kids with you one day, just not right now."

"I know," she smiled. "But I'm looking forward to when we can have kids together." She leaned over and gave him a kiss, sighing in content as she savored the sweet taste of his lips. After a couple minutes, they slowly pulled apart. "I love you so much, Aang."

He smiled widely and kissed her again. "I love you too, Kat." They smiled at each other and snuggled into each other's warmth as Aang took his jacket and covered them, slowly drifting into sleep as the exhaustion finally claimed them. "Goodnight, Katara," he murmured as he kissed her head.

"Goodnight, Aang," she whispered back as she rested her head on his chest as they both fell into a deep sleep.


	9. Chapter 9: To Kill an Agni

Chapter 9: To Kill an Agni

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

Aang groaned as he heard a laugh wake him up from his deep sleep. He attempted to roll over, but another body was blocking him from doing so. He felt more cold than he usually did in his room, almost as if he was… naked. "Wake up, man!" Aang's eyes shot open to look Teo in the eyes, blushing heavily as he remembered what had happened the night before. "Good for you man, but you might want to put some clothes on before Sokka finds his way up here. He just might try to kill you."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Aang agreed as he looked over to Katara. "Katara," he whispered gently, "Wake up." Katara stirred a little, but didn't show any signs of waking up, making him sigh at how cute she looked when she was sleeping. An idea formed in his mind as he looked down at her. He started kissing her neck, waking her up instantly as she felt fire go back down to her loins. She rolled on top of him purely on instinct and kissed him back as Teo cleared his throat. She paused and blushed heavily in embarrassment as she realized she was naked.

Teo was kind enough to cover his eyes, but not without sneaking a quick peek at her plump butt. "Alright, I've done my job. You two figure out what you want to do. And don't forget that it's bro's night, Aang!" Teo called over his shoulder before he walked back down into the elevator, leaving Katara and Aang in an awkward silence.

"Well," Katara started with a nervous laugh. "That was… _interesting._"

Aang laughed in agreement. "Yeah, that was definitely… _interesting_." He smiled up at her and she smiled back. "Did I ever tell you that I love you?"

She nodded happily. "You did, but I wouldn't mind if you said it again."

He grinned and pulled her closer so that she was face to face with him, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine as she stared into his eyes. "Well, you'd better get used to it, because I'm going to be saying it a lot," he told her honestly, making her smile widely. "I love you, Katara."

"I love you too, Aang," she sighed happily before smashing her lips against his, both reveling in the sweetness of each others' lips. They kissed for several moments before the kiss became heated and Katara could feel the heat go back to her loins. She pulled away reluctantly and smiled seductively at him. "Do you think we could have another round?" she asked hopefully.

Aang laughed at her eagerness. "I don't know, Katara… As much as I'd like to, what if your brother comes up here and finds us like this?"

She started kissing his neck and stroked him, making him moan loudly at her touch. "I don't really care what my brother thinks, Aang. I want you," she whispered huskily in his ear, making all reason fly out of his mind.

"Okay," he nodded weakly, completely under her control and being perfectly fine with it. Katara smiled and kissed him again before she got to work.

* * *

A couple hours later, Katara and Aang came down the elevator and made their way to the entrance to the safehouse. "I can't believe you lasted so long," Katara laughed as she held his hand.

"Me neither," he agreed as he kissed her cheek. "With how amazing that felt, I'm surprised I even made it an hour let alone an hour and a half." They finally reached the entrance, but before Aang could do anything, Katara took him and pushed him back against the wall, kissing him fiercely as he kissed her back just as passionately.

She reluctantly pulled away after a couple minutes. "I love you, Aang."

He smiled and kissed her again. "I love you too, Kat." Katara beamed and kissed him again before she reluctantly let him go. He opened the entrance and held a hand out to her. "Shall we?"

"We shall," she agreed before taking his hand and letting him carry her bridal style. She laughed merrily as he floated gracefully down and landed softly before putting her down. They looked around and noticed the stares of their teammates. "What?" Katara asked indignantly with her arms crossed.

"Teo told us about what you did," Zuko snickered.

Their eyes widened, and they looked to him who only nodded in response with a smirk. "Uh oh," Aang gulped as he looked at Sokka. Sokka was stone faced for a few moments before he walked up to Aang. Aang prepared himself to get punched, but Sokka just patted him on the back with a smile. "Welcome to the family, man! It'll be awesome having Stormborn as my brother-in-law."

Aang was confused for a moment. "What exactly did you tell them, Teo?" he asked.

Teo grinned as he wiggled his eyebrows at him. "I told them that I came up there to check on you and found you guys cuddling," he explained with a wink, making Aang and Katara sigh heavily in relief.

"Oh. Yeah, that's what happened," Aang agreed quickly. "Anyway, we're already pretty late on training, how about we go get started?"

"You mean once you get changed into your combat clothes?" Sokka teased, still having no clue that his sister had been deflowered.

Aang laughed nervously and rubbed his neck. "Yep. Now let's go!" Sokka looked confused at his eagerness to start training, but shrugged and followed him to the elevator.

Just as Aang was about to secretly thank Teo, Teo added, "Oh, and did I mention I found them cuddling together _naked_?"

"What?!" Sokka shrieked with a death glare at Aang.

Aang and Katara glared at Teo. "I'm going to get you back for that," Aang warned him as the elevator doors closed.

* * *

Everyone walked out of the training room covered in sweat. Aang had worked them all hard today, especially Teo for what he did in the elevator. Sokka groaned as he wiped sweat from his forehead. "Ugh, why did you have to have us run three miles on the treadmill?"

Teo groaned as well. "I don't know what you're complaining about," he complained as he rolled his eyes. "You're not the one who had to do _five _miles on a treadmill."

"Well maybe next time you'll be smart enough to not rat me out," Aang grinned wickedly at him, making Teo stick his tongue out at him.

"Why doesn't Toph have to go through our regular combat training?" Katara asked as she took his hand, making him smile at her.

Toph grinned and shrugged. "What can I say, Sugar Queen? I'm just that awesome." Katara didn't believe her for a second.

"She was the first person I trained with in this city," Aang explained with a roll of his eyes. "She managed to learn all of my techniques during that time, so she knows all I have to teach her in that area."

Katara nodded in understanding. "Okay, I guess that makes sense. At least I actually managed to do the air strike quicker than her."

"Hey!" Toph cried indignantly. "I'm an Earthbender! I'm not supposed to leave the ground, so what else do you expect from me?" she asked in a way that clearly needed no answer.

Zuko smirked. "That may be, but at least Katara didn't scream like a little girl when she actually jumped down."

Toph glared at him, but he didn't back down for a second. "I wouldn't have screamed if Aang hadn't pushed me off."

Mai snickered at her. "And you wouldn't have jumped at all if Aang hadn't pushed you. For someone who acts so tough, you sure seem to be scared of heights."

Toph gave Mai her best glare, but Mai was unfazed as she stared disinterestedly at her nails. Before this could go on any further, Aang stepped in. "Okay guys, let's just cool it. Everyone here is perfectly capable of what we do." He paused to snicker. "Except for Sokka."

"Hey!" Sokka cried indignantly, making everyone else laugh.

Aang patted him on the back. "I'm just kidding, Sokka. Now how about we get some more training in?" Everyone groaned at his suggestion. "I didn't mean physical training." He had everyone's attention. "Today we're going to the shooting range to practice… well, shooting."

Sokka's eyes widened in excitement. "Really?" Aang nodded with a grin. "Yes!" he pumped a fist in the air.

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. "Ever the child, Sokka. I'm surprised that Aang lets you have a gun considering you're probably just going to shoot yourself in the foot again," she teased, making Sokka frown as he glared at her.

"Okay, follow me everyone!" Aang interrupted before it could go any further, knowing it would only get worse if he let it continue. They all followed him to the elevator and eventually to the gun room where he punched in a code and held the door open for them. Everyone walked in silently while Katara stopped to give him a quick peck and then followed them inside where the newest people gasped at how expensive everything looked. Everything was top of the line, from the targets to the practice guns that were hanging up on the wall to the left of the room. "Alright, normally I wouldn't start training with guns so soon, but we have a deadline and I want us all to be prepared for anything at any moment, so we'll be practicing our shooting today." Zuko raised his hand. "Yes, Zuko?"

He put it back down. "Do we get our own guns or are these for everyone to use?"

Aang shook his head as he gestured to Sokka who stared blankly for a minute before realization hit him and he pulled out his desert eagle. "As you can see by Sokka's gun there, once you've been trained enough to use our blades, you'll be able to use guns as well. You guys are getting there, but you still need another week or two before you're there." Zuko nodded in acceptance and remained silent. "Now, would anyone like to go first?"

"Oh! Me! Me!" Sokka waved his hand in the air excitedly, making Katara roll her eyes at him. Aang nodded and gestured for him to go up to a small circle which was obviously where he was supposed to stand.

"Okay then! You've apparently had some practice with this before, so let's see if you remember anything. Try not to shoot your foot again," he teased, making everyone laugh as Sokka rolled his eyes. Sokka aimed it at the target and got it right on with five shots in the head, two in its chest and one on each leg. "Impressive job, Sokka! Looks like I don't need to teach you anything about shooting."

Sokka grinned and walked away proudly with a, "Take that, losers!"

Toph smirked and walked up. "I'm next, Twinkle Toes!" making everyone but Katara laugh at her nickname for him. Aang shrugged and gestured to the wall to his left. She walked over and looked through it until she found a colt python and grinned. "This'll do!" She walked straight up to the circle and didn't hesitate. Every shot found its target dead on so quickly that Aang wasn't able to follow where she was aiming until it was too late.

"Wow, I"m glad that you're on our side," Aang laughed as Toph smirked proudly. She walked back to her spot and put the pistol until Aang said, "There are some holsters over in the corner over there. We'll go get your jacket after this." Toph nodded and went to get her holster. "Who's next?" Katara raised her hand and he smiled warmly at her. "Okay, Kat. Whenever you're ready." She smiled back and got in her position, making most of her shots except for in the head. "Here let me help you with that last one," he offered as he came up behind her. She blushed a little as his arms went around her, but smiled and enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms. He guided her aim and showed her what she had to do until she had it down perfectly. "Great job, Kat! You've got it down perfectly." She beamed at him and gave him a quick kiss before returning to her spot. Aang turned his attention to Mai and Zuko. "Alright, which one of you wants to go first?" Mai shrugged and walked up, but didn't bother to pick a gun. "Um, I know you use shurikens, but don't you want to train with a gun too?" Aang asked in confusion.

She shook her head. "I'm good. Guns aren't really my taste. That and shurikens are quick and quiet, like me. I'll stick with what I've got, thanks." Aang shrugged and let her get to work. She didn't hesitate and threw three shurikens quickly at her target, getting them precisely in the head, chest and in the groin, making all of the guys gulp and knew that they shouldn't mess with her.

"Good job," Aang laughed nervously, silently making a note to be careful not to anger her. She smirked at his nervousness and walked back to Zuko. "Okay Zuko, you're up." Zuko nodded and walked up and looked at the guns before picking out a Springfield and aiming it at the target. He missed the first few shots before Aang corrected him. "You need to breathe while you aim until you actually make the shot. You won't be able to aim properly if you don't have oxygen in your brain."

Zuko groaned a little but understood. "Okay," he sighed. He did as he was told and made the shots, getting them perfectly this time.

"Wow, you guys are all naturals!" Aang congratulated them, making them all proud of themselves except for Mai who didn't care.

"So what's next on the list?" Zuko wondered.

"We're going to go upstairs and start making plans," Aang told him as he started walking out of the room. "We have a lot to talk about." Zuko raised his hand again, making Aang laugh. "Yes, Zuko?"

He put his hand back down and waved his gun at him. "Do I get to keep this or what?"

Aang thought about it for a moment before he shrugged. "Sure, why not?" Zuko smiled a little and grabbed a holster before following the group out of the range and into the war room. "Okay," Aang started as he took a seat at the big table in the center of the room. "We all know that Ozai has been planning something big, but we need to start dismantling his influence in the city. Zuko has brought us information on several warehouses that we need to take care of, and hopefully we can figure out more information when we invade them. Also, we need to take care of the man who is supplying him with mercenaries," he told them, making Mai and Zuko look at each other nervously. "If we can cut off his supply of mercs, he'll be virtually defenseless and I can sneak in and finish him."

Zuko cleared his throat a little. "Um… there might be a problem here," he said nervously.

Aang raised a brow. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously. "What's wrong?"

Mai looked at Zuko who nodded and spoke up. "Her uncle is the man supplying my Father with soldiers to use at his disposal," he explained, as Aang's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" Zuko nodded. Aang thought about it for a moment. "Okay then… Well we can't just keep letting him supply your father with soldiers. We'll never get to Ozai if we have a thousand soldiers coming at us at once." He looked at Mai. "How close are you with your uncle?"

"Pretty close," Mai admitted with a hint of worry in her eyes, catching Aang by surprise.

Aang sighed and thought about it for another moment before an idea came to mind. "Do you think you might be able to get him to stop selling to Ozai?" he wondered.

Mai thought about it for a moment before she shrugged. "Possibly, but I can't say for sure. He's a great uncle to me, but he likes his money. I don't know which one he would pick."

"I guess you'll have to try then, because it's either you convince him or he dies. I can see that he means a lot to you, but he's part of the problem with this city. If he didn't supply Zuko's father, then Ozai likely never would have gotten as powerful as he is now," Aang told her honestly.

She nodded slowly with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Fine, but please let me try to talk him into it. I at least have to try."

Aang nodded. "Of course. We'll make sure that you get the chance to, but if he refuses, we'll be left with no other choice." She nodded in response and stared sadly down at her lap while Zuko comforted her with a hug. He returned his attention to the whole group with a sigh. "Okay, now that that's worked out, we need to talk about the most pressing matter on my list. Azula Agni."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"

"You know she's on my list," Aang explained as Zuko nodded. "I've heard about her cruelty towards people, and I'm sure she's an excellent fighter. She needs to be taken out of the picture before we can make a move on your father. Do you have any suggestions on how we could get to her?"

He thought about it for a moment as he scratched his head. "Hmmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "I know where she lives, but she's probably not there anymore since I disappeared. She probably either thinks that I was killed by you or that I'm a traitor, but either way I doubt she's still there." Then an idea came to mind. "Ty Lee! We could send Mai to Ty Lee and say that she was trying to hunt you down for killing me and needs Azula's help."

Aang pondered his suggestion for a few moments until he nodded. "That just might work." He turned to Mai. "Do you think you could do that?"

She rolled her eyes a little but shrugged. "Sure, why not? It should be fine as long as Ty doesn't talk my ears off."

"Okay then," Aang laughed at her obvious displeasure at her friend. "That sounds like a plan. Azula is priority number one right now. Do you know your friend's number?" Mai nodded. "Great, we'll give you an untraceable phone and you give her a call. Let us know if you need to go meet her in person or anything." She nodded again. "Teo, could you get them what they need, please?" Teo nodded and motioned for them to follow him. After they were gone, Sokka spoke up.

"Do you really think we can trust them?" Sokka asked him suspiciously. "She didn't seem very happy about the idea of having to 'take care' of her uncle."

"Would you be happy if I had told you guys that we had to kill _your_ uncle, Sokka?" Aang countered.

Sokka rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "I don't have an uncle, thank you very much."

Katara smacked him on the back of the head as he groaned in pain. "You know what he means, Sokka! Don't be such an idiot."

"Hey, I'm just saying!" Sokka argued. "What if they can't talk this guy out of it and we have to kill him? How do we know they won't turn on us?" he questioned seriously, making everyone's faces drop as they realized that he had a point.

Aang shrugged as he looked him dead in the eyes. "Then we'll just have to be careful when the time comes. If anything seems off afterwards, then we'll fight them and win. Even with the training we're giving them, they'll still be outnumbered. I'm not too worried."

Sokka sighed but gave in. Katara decided to speak up. "Who's going to go with you to hunt Azula down?"

He thought about it for a moment. "We're going to need Mai to go since she's the one seeking out Azula, but I guess I might need some backup. Maybe I can bring Zuko or Toph with," he thought aloud with a finger tapping against his chin.

"Why not me or Sokka?" she asked. "You know we can fight."

"I know that," he conceded. "But I don't want either of you getting hurt, least of all you, Katara," he told her while cupping her cheek. "You mean everything to me, and I don't know what I would do if you ever got hurt."

She smiled sadly at him and put a hand over his. "I understand, Aang. I wouldn't know what to do without you either, but that's why I want to be there with you. So I can make sure that you survive." Aang was hesitant. "Please, Aang?" she begged with her big eyes.

After another few moments of hesitation, he finally gave in with a sigh. "Alright," he agreed reluctantly, "but I'm bringing someone else along just to be on the safe side."

"And that'll be me," Zuko said as he walked back into the room with Teo and Mai not far behind. "There's no way I'm letting her go in there alone without me to help her when things go bad."

Aang looked over at him and shrugged. "Okay, so Katara, me and Zuko will sneak up on her while Mai draws her out." He looked at Zuko seriously. "Do you think you'll be fine if we get in a fight? I've just barely started training the both of you."

Zuko blushed a little in embarrassment. "Well… we've kind of been training with Toph since she got here yesterday in our spare time and according to her are half way," he admitted, catching Aang by surprise.

"Really?" he looked over to Toph with a dangerous look in his eyes, for once making Toph scared of who she assumed wasn't capable of having such a look in his stormy depths.

"Um… yeah…" Toph said reluctantly, doing her best not to make the already burning anger in his eyes worse. "They wanted to know more about the fighting so they could be prepared for anything. I didn't mean to overstep my bounds or anything," she said quietly, taking everyone but Aang by surprise about how small she sounded while Aang's anger poured over her.

He was silent for another moment before he shrugged, his anger receding but still slightly there. "Alright, but please, from now on, if there are any other situations like this, all I ask is that you tell me about it so that I'm in the loop. I'm the leader of the group for a reason, okay?" Toph, Zuko, and Mai nodded quickly, doing their best not to anger him again. "Great. Now, what did you hear about Azula?" he asked Mai.

"She knows where Azula is, but she can't say it over the phone," Mai told him. "Apparently they believe that Zuko was killed and that you broke into the building and stole some information, so now they're all on high alert."

Aang nodded. "Good. It's a good start. Where are you meeting her?"

Zuko spoke up for her. "They're meeting at Iroh's Cafe tonight at eight. She'll tell her the info and then we can leave."

A question popped into Katara's mind. "Do you think your friend might be willing to join our team?" she wondered.

Zuko thought about it for a moment. "Possibly. Maybe if she knew that Aang hadn't actually killed me," he thought aloud. He looked at Mai who simply shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

Aang held up a hand. "Hold on a second, we already have what, eight people on our team?" They all nodded. "Why do we need nine people on it?"

"Come on, Aang," Suki finally spoke up. "The more people we have to help, the better off we'll be at protecting the city."

Zuko nodded in agreement. "She's right. Ty Lee's an excellent gymnast who also knows how to disable people temporarily by hitting their pressure points. She could help us out if she joined our team." Aang still wasn't sure, but he was curious to learn more about this "pressure point" technique Zuko was talking about. "It's not even a for sure thing, but it's worth a shot."

"You do realize that if we offer for her to join us and she says 'no', we'll have to kill her, right?" Aang asked them seriously, making their faces drop. "If you reveal yourselves as traitors, she could go and tell Azula and then your secret would be out. If you choose to do this, it will either end with her joining us or her death. Just be sure that you're okay with taking that risk before you decide to ask her to join."

Zuko and Mai looked at each other before they nodded. "Yeah, I think that she'll join us," Zuko finally said. "The only reason why she hangs out with Azula is because Azula uses fear to keep her in line, but if we take that fear away, then maybe she'll be willing to join."

Aang chuckled a little as he remembered something. "Wait, didn't Mai come here to get away from her? Why would you want her to join?"

"Because she's still my friend, even if she annoys me sometimes. I don't want her to die," Mai admitted quietly. "Don't you _ever _tell her I said that," she threatened her fiance who nodded quickly in response with his hands in the air.

Aang laughed at them. "Well alright then. As long as you guys understand what could happen, then you can try. I hope it works out for you." He pulled out a small circle from under the table and pressed a button, displaying a holographic map of the city before them, making everyone but him and Teo gasp at it. "Now, the last thing we need to talk about are those warehouses I mentioned before. There's one in the north, two in the west, and one in the east," he told them as he pointed at where they were on the map, leaving red dots to signify where they were located. "Once we've trained you guys enough, we're going to divide and conquer. Each warehouse must be liberated and destroyed before we can make a move on Ozai. Any questions?" No one spoke up. "Okay then," he said as he closed it. "We know what we have to do. Tonight, me, Zuko, and Mai will go to Iroh's cafe and see about their friend possibly joining us."

Katara thought about what Sokka had said before. What if he was right? What if Ty Lee didn't want to join and Aang would have to kill her? What if Zuko and Mai didn't like that and decided to turn against him? "I'm coming too," Katara told him.

"Katara…" he sighed in exasperation, not wanting to fight with her but also not wanting to put her in any more danger than she already was going to be.

"No, Aang. This is non-negotiable," she refused outright. "I'm coming with you and that's that." He looked like he wanted to argue about it, so she kissed him, making his brain melt and he gave in with a sigh as she pulled away.

"Fine, you can come with. But please be careful," he almost begged with sad eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt."

She smiled and kissed him again. "I won't, because you'll be there to protect me like I'll be there to protect you. Okay?"

He was silent for another moment before he nodded reluctantly. "Okay." His stomach growled as everyone laughed. "How about we all go get some breakfast?" he asked sheepishly.

"Sounds good to me!" Sokka cheered. Everyone laughed again and started walking to the elevator when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see none other than Suki there. "Oh hey, Suki. Did you need something?"

She smiled at him and looked past him. "You guys go ahead! We'll be there soon!" Aang shrugged in response and sent the elevator down after giving Katara a quick kiss. As the doors closed, Suki turned to him. "So, do you mind if we talk real quick?"

Sokka became confused but nodded and followed her back over to the war room where she sat down in a chair. He followed suit and sat down in the chair next to her. "So what did you want to talk about?" he asked curiously.

"Well," she played with her hair a bit nervously. "I just wanted to tell you something."

He became even more confused. "Okay? What did you want to tell me?" he asked, becoming a little worried, having no clue what she was about to tell him.

She was silent for a moment before she took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I just wanted to tell you that I… maybe… sort of… kinda… like you," she admitted with a deep blush as she looked down at her hands.

His eyes widened in absolute shock. "What?" he asked in disbelief.

"Don't make me say it again," she pleaded, feeling stupid for admitting it when he clearly didn't feel the same.

"No, I want you to say it again," Sokka shook his head again. "Please, say it again."

Suki looked up and smiled shyly. "I like you, Sokka." That was all he needed. He leaned over and kissed her, taking her by surprise until she sighed contentedly in his mouth and kissed him back, enjoying each others' taste.

"Congrats you two!" Aang said over the intercom, making them both split apart hastily and blushed.

"What the hell, Aang?" Suki grumbled. "Kind of ruined the moment here."

Teo came over the intercom snickering. "Sorry, but we just couldn't resist."

"Give me the mic," Katara's voice could be heard from the intercom. "Sokka, you better not screw this up. She's the best girl you'll ever get, so I would suggest not being an idiot."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Gee, thanks sis. Glad to know that you have so much confidence in me," his voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Congrats or whatever," Mai said disinterestedly as Zuko's laugh could be heard from the speaker.

"Not bad, Snoozles," Toph's voice came over finally. "Took you long enough."

Sokka glared at the camera he could see in the corner of the room. "Could you guys _not_ watch us when we're having a moment?"

Toph's snort rang throughout the room, making Sokka and Suki cover their ears at how loud it was. "Nope. Sorry, Meathead. I'm going to be teasing you two about each other from now on, just so you know."

"Fine, then I'll tease you about Teo from now on!" Sokka yelled back defiantly, catching both Toph and Teo by surprise.

"How did you know about that?" she asked angrily. "Only one person knows about that, and that's-" she cut herself off as realization hit her. "You're dead, Twinkle Toes!"

"Toph! Calm down!" Teo laughed, making more big sound waves crash through the room. There were sounds of things crashing and breaking before the intercom finally went out.

Suki took her hands off her ears and sighed in relief. "Finally. I hate that stupid intercom."

"Yeah, me too," Sokka agreed in annoyance before he remembered what had happened before they were interrupted. "So, any chance we could go back to where we left off before we were so rudely interrupted?" he asked hopefully.

She pretended to think about it, laughing a little as she saw the nervousness in his eyes. "I don't know, Sokka… I'm not sure if I like you anymore…" she trailed off teasingly. Sokka's face dropped, but she just laughed and kissed him, immediately making him perk up again. "I'm only teasing Sokka. Of course we can." Sokka let out a sigh of relief and started leaning in when the elevator door opened to reveal Aang running out with Toph not far behind.

"GET BACK HERE, TWINKLE TOES!" Toph screamed. "YOU'RE DEAD!"

Aang ran quickly to the other side of the room and to the hallway before turning around and grinning. "I'm good. I'll be in my room if you need me." And with that, he ran the remaining distance and locked the door behind him, ensuring Toph wouldn't be able to get inside.

Toph's anger was palpable, but she finally let it drop after a few deep breaths. "Fine, I'll just get him later," she grumbled to herself and walked back to the elevator. "You two can go back to making out now!" she yelled to Sokka and Suki before the elevator doors closed.

"Finally," Sokka sighed in relief and returned his attention to Suki. "So, where were we?" Suki smiled and started leaning in when the elevator door opened to reveal Katara walking out and going straight for Aang's room. "Really, Katara? You _really_ had to come up here right now?"

Katara smirked. "What can I say, Sokka? I have a boyfriend who needs some… _comfort_ after being chased around by Toph throughout half the building." Sokka looked confused, so she just laughed and went to Aang's room. Realization hit him too late when he realized what she meant.

"Wait a minute!" Sokka yelled, but she was already in his room with the door once again locked. He shuddered in disgust of what they were about to do and turned his attention to Suki. "How about we take this to my room where we can't be interrupted?" Suki nodded and dragged him to his room, smiling as she closed the door and locked it.

* * *

Several hours later, Aang, Katara, Mai, and Zuko went to Iroh's Cafe for their meet up with Ty Lee. It wasn't very busy, fortunately for them, but it also provided little cover to blend in. They would need to be extra careful to avoid suspicion. "Okay, so here's the plan," Aang started as they huddled in an alleyway next to the Cafe. "Mai will go in and talk to Ty Lee. Get the information we need and then make your offer. If she turns it down, then I'm afraid we'll have to kill her, so I hope for your sake it doesn't come to that. The three of us will watch from a corner booth and do our best not to attract attention. Any questions?" Zuko raised his hand. "Yeah, Zuko?"

"How do you get this hood on?" he asked in annoyance as he tried to get it over his head. "It won't go up for some reason."

Aang snickered and walked over to him while pressing a button on his jacket that made a little _click_ sound. "Our hoods have locks on them to ensure that they stay up while we're running around," he explained with a grin. "If we didn't have a lock on it, our hoods would likely get blown off by the wind or by people we're fighting and revealing our identity in the process."

"Oh," Zuko said in realization. "That makes sense. Okay, I'm ready."

Aang looked to Mai. "Are you ready?" She nodded and he looked to Katara with a smile. "Are you ready?"

She smiled back and kissed him quickly on the lips. "You know I am." Zuko and Mai groaned at them before walking into the cafe with the three of them putting their hoods on. They all sat in a corner booth while Mai looked around until she noticed Ty Lee sitting in a booth. Groaning slightly, Mai walked over and sat down in front of her.

"Mai!" Ty Lee said excitedly and gave her a big hug, much to Mai's annoyance. "You're okay! I've been so worried about you since you disappeared."

"I'm fine," Mai responded dully. "I've just been trying to track down the stupid 'Stormborn' person who-" she cut herself off, pretending to be choked up, making Ty Lee hug her again.

"I'm so sorry about Zuko, Mai," Ty Lee told her sadly. "I can't even imagine the pain that you're going through right now."

Mai put on a sad face and looked down at her lap. "I'm trying not to think about it too much. I just want revenge, and who knows better about revenge than Azula?"

While they talked, Zuko scanned the crowds of faces and couldn't help but think he recognized some, if not all, of the faces he came across. Then it hit him: They were mercs he had seen train in disguise. "Stormborn… We've got a problem here."

Aang raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Zuko pointed to a guy talking to another guy at a booth. "See that guy?" Aang nodded in response. "I recognize him from before I left. He's a merc."

"So?" Aang asked in confusion. "I'm sure that mercs get coffee sometimes, too. Just because they're hired to kill doesn't mean they're not human."

Zuko shook his head and pointed to several other people. "No, it's not just him here who's a merc. I recognize more than a few people here who I saw being trained."

Aang's confusion turned to understanding with a hint of worry. "So this is a trap," he whispered quietly. Zuko nodded. Taking a deep breath, he was about to speak when a loud whistle came, making everyone else who was in the cafe to stand up and pull out concealed guns in their pockets and aim them at Mai.

"Well well, if it isn't my old friend Mai," Azula said as she walked out of a nearby supply closet. "Or as I should really call you, the traitor."

Mai turned around and looked at her uncaringly. "Nice to see you too, Azula. Though I've gotta ask, why are you calling me a traitor? I only want to take down the 'Stormborn' guy."

Azula sneered at her. "Oh please. I know that you're working with him and that Zuzu is still alive," she told her, making Ty Lee gasp.

"_Really_, Azula?" Mai attempted to play her charade a little longer. "Do you _really_ think I would lie about whether Zuko was alive or not?"

"Of course I do," Azula responded without missing a beat. "Since you joined the enemy, you would ask Ty Lee where I am to give him the information he needs. I've been tracking Stormborn for a long time, but now you're going to lead me right to him," she finished with an evil smirk. The lights went out, leaving Azula in the dark. "What the hell just happened?!" she cried in outrage.

Several muffled gasps and cries of pain could be heard from around the room until the lights turned back on, revealing Aang standing in front of her with a bloody blade. Zuko and Katara got up quickly and ran over to support Aang, ready at any moment. "Sorry Azula, but you won't be getting away from me this time," Aang told her seriously.

Katara became confused. "I thought that you didn't know that the Agnis' were involved in this until you rescued me from that warehouse?"

He nodded without taking his eyes off of Azula. "I didn't," he agreed. "But I've chased her down before while she was disguised, I just didn't know who she was. She's a big part of the reason why so many people are kidnapped."

Azula smirked. "Ah, so you figured it out did you? It's a shame I don't know who you are, but that's alright. It won't matter once I'm done with you," she said while getting into a fighting stance.

"You're going down, Azula," Zuko threatened.

"There you are Zuzu!" she exclaimed without taking her eyes off of Aang. "Did you _really_ think that we would believe that you were all of a sudden dead _and_ some important files happened to be missing?" Zuko didn't respond. She clucked disappointingly at him. "You might be the older sibling, but I am smarter and stronger than you in every way. Are you prepared to die for your betrayal, Zuzu?"

"Yes," he responded immediately, making Mai worry. "I am."

Azula grinned, finally looking at him for a split second. "Then let's get this started!" Aang finally had enough waiting and shot some fire at her which she just absorbed. "For the oh-so-powerful Stormborn, I expected a lot more," she taunted. Katara striked this time, taking some water from a fish tank and sending it to her in an ice spear while she ran around and attempted to stab her in the back. Azula saw this coming, however, and dodged so that the water sent Katara back into a wall. Aang became furious and bent some Earth from the ground and shot it at her. She easily evaded it and turned to Zuko. "You'll die first, brother," she decided with an evil grin. "For betraying our family and for being a weakling. You don't deserve to be an Agni."

"I never wanted to be an Agni," he responded simply as he shot some flames at her. She cut the flames in half and sent some back at Zuko as he caught it, dissipating it into nothingness.

After making sure Katara was okay, Aang helped her up and ran back over to Azula and resumed the fight. Mai just sat there in shock, completely surprised at having been caught in their lie. She turned to look at Ty Lee who looked like she didn't know what to do. "Ty, before you make a decision about whose side you're going to be on, I want to say I'm sorry."

Ty Lee became puzzled. "Sorry? What are you sorry for?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"I'm sorry I had to lie to you," Mai admitted reluctantly. "We needed to get the information on Azula and we weren't sure if you would rat me out if you found out about it. I'm sorry that I lied to you." She took a deep breath and took out her shurikens. "Okay, now that that's off my chest, I'm gonna go." She paused as she stood up. "No matter what side you choose, I'll always be your friend, Ty." And with that, she joined the fight, leaving Ty to think about what she had said. Sure Ty Lee would like to not have to be ordered around by Azula anymore, but Azula was a great fighter. She was almost guaranteed to get out of this alive. And she didn't want to be on Azula's list. Looking up for a moment, she saw Azula getting backed up into a corner of the room when she made her decision. "Ty Lee! Come help me!" Azula ordered.

Ty Lee walked up and got into a fighting stance next to Mai and Zuko. "No. I'm done helping you, Azula. You've ordered me around for too long." Mai and Zuko smiled a little before returning their attention to Azula.

"Welcome to the team, Ty Lee," Aang told her, allowing her to see his face from his hood.

She gasped as she got a good look at him before winking. "Thanks cutie," she smiled flirtily, making Katara growl in her throat.

"Enough of this!" Azula yelled. "You will all die for your betrayal!" Finally having enough, she let her anger take over and started shooting flames at everyone which they all quickly dodged. Aang and Zuko hid behind a counter as Azula started setting the place on fire.

"We need to get her out of here!" Aang told him quickly. "Get her to chase you and we'll meet you there for back up." Zuko nodded and ran out of the room. "Hey Azula!" he called out to her.

She whipped around from trying to burn Mai. "What do you want, traitor?!" she menaced.

He smirked and gave her the bird, making her even more angry. "I just wanted to tell you how stupid and slow you are. You couldn't catch me if you tried," he smirked before running out the door.

"Why you little!" Azula screamed before chasing him out. Once they were gone, Aang quickly air bent all of the flames out and started running out the door with everyone behind him. They looked around and found Zuko running down an alleyway with Azula hot on his heels.

"Come on, guys!" Aang called behind him as he ran after them. "This ends today!" They all followed them until Azula cornered Zuko at the end of the alleyway behind a building.

"I'm sorry it had to end like this, brother!" Azula yelled gleefully as she started up the motions for lightning.

"No you're not," Zuko retorted as he got into his redirection stance. Azula saw Aang and decided to take a chance, quickly turning around and firing it at him. He quickly dodged it and ran away into another alleyway.

Azula smiled triumphantly. "See? Even the great and terrible Stormborn is scared of me! If he can't defeat me, how do you all expect to?" No one said anything for a moment, left in utter confusion as to why Aang had run off until she returned her attention to Zuko. "Now it's your turn to die!" Before she could move a muscle, Aang came down from the rooftop and landed on her with his knife in her throat, making her choke on her own blood as his blade slowly retracted into his sleeve.

"Azula Agni," Aang started tiredly as he looked down at her. "For the pain you have caused others and to this city, you are hereby sentenced to death. I am sorry that it had to end this way, but I could not allow this to go on any longer." Azula gave him one last seething look of rage before her eyes dimmed and she stopped breathing. "May you rest in peace." He took a deep breath and turned to Zuko who was looking in absolute astonishment at his now dead sister. He knew that this had to happen, but seeing it in real life was far different than thinking about it. Even if they never really got along, she _was _his sister. All the memories of her cruelty came to mind, and he finally got over his shock. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Zuko, but I didn't have any other choice."

Zuko nodded in understanding. "It's okay. I understand. It's just a little bit of a shock, but I'll be fine," he assured him. Mai walked up to him and gave him a hug. "Come on, let's just get back to the safehouse." They started walking away with Ty Lee right behind them. Aang looked down at the body of the person whose life he had just snuffed, feeling slight remorse hit him. It's not like he enjoyed killing people, but he knew that people like her needed to be put down for the good of the innocent and for the good of the city.

Katara walked up to him and took his hand. "I know it's tough, but you did the right thing. Azula was nuts. If she was acting like that around _us_, I can only imagine what she would do to innocent people." He still looked unsure so she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Come on. Let's go get some food." After another moment, he nodded and allowed her to pull him away, feeling the guilt come crashing down on him from the look on Zuko's face.


	10. Chapter 10: Graduation

Chapter 10: Graduation

**Hey guys! I wanted to apologize because of the threesome thing. I didn't know that people would hate it so much, rather I thought it would be something funny, but to make amends I have removed it and inserted Kataang fluff in its place. For those who didn't like it, I really am sorry and will not make the same mistake again. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

"Harder," Aang commanded as he sparred with Sokka. Sokka obliged and punched his hand with more force, still not able to get Aang to even wince as he so badly wanted to. "Come on, Sokka. If you want to be able to fight for your life, you have to throw a good punch when your blade fails. Now, give me a good, solid punch right into my hand." Sokka finally had enough and did as he requested, making him yelp as his fist crashed into Aang's hand of stone. Aang nodded. "Alright, that should do for that." He turned to the rest of the group who were watching. "Now, since everyone's caught up with each other, I have one final lesson to give you all," he told them, catching everyone by surprise.

"Really?" Katara asked in complete disbelief as she looked at her love.

He nodded with a smile at her, making her insides melt at the kindness in his eyes and happy to know that he only loved her. "Yep, you guys have all done well. There's only one more thing to teach you, then we'll have a ceremony and make you guys official protectors of the city." He looked over to Ty Lee. "Except for you Ty. Sorry, but you still have other stuff to learn before then."

"It's alright Captain Cutie," Ty Lee winked at him, making Katara growl in her throat at her flirting with her boyfriend. Aang just laughed and walked up to give Katara a quick kiss, leaving a dreamy look on Katara's face.

"Anyway, let's get started," he continued as he walked back. "Any volunteers to come and help me?" No one raised their hand. "What? Are you guys too chicken to learn one of my best moves?" he taunted, knowing he would get a rise out of someone.

Toph huffed angrily. "I'm no chicken! I'll do it, Twinkletoes!" _That's what I thought,_ Aang thought with a satisfied smirk. Toph walked up and stood in front of him on the mat.

"Okay, so this last move is what I call 'the double slice'," he told them as he motioned for Teo to come up as well. Teo groaned and walked up to face Toph and smiled at her, making her blush and smile a little back. "So," he continued, "this move will help when you're being attacked by two enemies at once. When in this situation, you'll want to do as follows." He motioned for Toph and Teo to attack him. They did so and charged at him, but he just stepped out of the way and had them crash into each other. "Then you would normally slam their heads together, but there's no need to show that. And then you take out your blade and slice the person on your right's throat, and then spin around and do the other's." Katara raised her hand. "Yeah, Sweetie?"

Katara smiled at his nickname for her and put her hand down. "Wouldn't it be easier if we just had two blades to do it? It would be quicker and cleaner and then you can use both hands while you're fighting."

Aang thought about it for a moment and realized she was right. "Wow, I can't believe I never thought of that. Good thinking, Kat," he smiled warmly at her while she smiled happily back. He walked over to the crate of bracers and grabbed an extra one for everyone who was there and handed it to them. "Okay, now I'll try it with my double bracers." He turned back to Toph and Teo and practiced it himself until he felt comfortable with it. "Wow, this should turn out great. It's quicker and more efficient than my older method. Anyone want to go first?"

"Me! Me!" Sokka raised his hand while jumping up and down. Aang laughed and motioned for him to come up, practicing it until he got it right. "Good job, Sokka. You can go back." Sokka smiled proudly and walked back to Suki who gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Who's next?" Aang asked them and Katara shrugged and went up. She got it down perfectly on the first try, making Aang impressed. "Wow, you've been paying attention, haven't you?"

Katara grinned and kissed him on the lips. "How could I not? I've got the best teacher ever."

Sokka groaned at his sister and his best friend. "Oogies!" he shuddered, making Katara glare at him until Aang just kissed her head and gave her a reassuring smile, making her smile back before going back to her spot. Next came Suki who appeared to have a little trouble with it.

"Suki, you're going to want to do this," Aang said as he moved up behind her and adjusted her arms, making her blush a little. "If you keep doing it downwards, it's not going to cut where you want it to cut. Go ahead and try again." She did and got it right this time. "Good job," he congratulated her with a smile, which she smiled back before she remembered her boyfriend. Zuko and Mai came up at the same time. "Why are you guys coming up at the same time?" Aang asked puzzled.

"We're a team," Zuko explained as he looked at Mai. "Even if we're individual people, we want to do everything together."

Aang smiled a little and nodded. "Okay then. Go ahead whenever you're ready." Zuko nodded and practiced until Aang was satisfied. "Alright, you did a good job with that." He turned his attention to Mai who already had her blades out. "Whenever you're ready, Mai." Mai didn't hesitate and practiced, getting a little too close to Teo's throat for Teo's liking, but after a few tries she got it down. "Good job guys, you can go back. They nodded and went back to where they were standing. "Okay, now Teo and Toph need to practice this. Kat? Would you mind helping me, please?" he asked politely.

"Of course not," Katara smiled as she walked up and stood in front of him.

He smiled back and looked over to Toph. "Go ahead whenever you're ready." Toph nodded and practiced her motions until Aang was satisfied that she had it down. "Okay, looks like you've got it. Your turn, Teo." Teo nodded and quickly got through it, almost getting it perfectly on his first try. "Good job, Teo!" Aang congratulated him with a clap on the back that made him wince. He then turned to Ty Lee. "You want to give it a quick shot?" She nodded and walked up to him, not before trailing some fingers down his spine and making him shiver a little. Katara glared at Ty Lee but just waited as Ty Lee practiced the move until she got it down. "Alright, you've got it down, Ty." Ty Lee smiled and quickly kissed him on the cheek before walking back over to her spot, making Katara fume and dug her nails into her hands. Aang noticed this and pulled her into a kiss that she melted into, feeling all her worries vanish in the smoke his kiss gave her brain from how it completely fried her. He pulled back and grinned at the look on her face before turning back to everyone. "Okay everybody! Great job! You have all but Ty now officially learned all I have to teach you, and now will be made official protectors of the city. Everyone follow me," he motioned for them to follow which they did. He led the way to the end of the hall and stopped at the wall that was there.

"Um, not to be rude or anything, but that's a wall," Sokka said in confusion.

Aang nodded. "It _is_ a wall, but as you'll see, it's also something else." He pressed a few buttons and a doorway slid open to reveal a long hallway with suits of armor lining both sides of the hallway.

"What the…" Sokka mumbled as they followed Aang into the room where he pressed a button and the firepit at the end of the walkway lit on fire. They all walked down and stood in a line in front of Aang who gave them each their jackets that he had put there in preparation.

"Put these on," he instructed them. "It's part of the ceremony." They did as he asked and waited for further instruction. "Now, you all have been around long enough to know that what we do isn't safe nor easy, but we also know that we have to do this so others won't have to. So today you make the choice of who you want to be. You can either go back to your safe and easy lives, or you can take the plunge and live for something greater than yourselves. The choice is yours." He looked to Katara with a soft smile. "Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, do you swear to do everything in your power to protect this city to the best of your ability until the end?" She nodded with a smile. He smiled back and went on to Sokka who was again jumping up and down excitedly. "Do you-"

"Yes!" Sokka answered excitedly, making Aang laugh and move on to Suki who nodded. Aang nodded back and looked to Mai and Zuko.

"Do you swear?" Aang asked them, not sure if they would say yes or not.

"I swear," Zuko said unflinchingly.

"I swear or whatever," Mai drawled uninterestedly as she looked at her nails. Aang grinned and moved on to Toph and Teo.

Before he could say a word, Toph snorted. "Of course I swear, Twinkle Toes. I wouldn't be here if I weren't in this for the long run." Aang laughed and nodded before looking to Teo who was nervous.

"Hey," Aang comforted him with a bro hug. "You can do this. I know that you're more than capable of doing this."

"Really?" Teo asked hopefully. Aang nodded and he took a deep breath. "Okay then, I swear."

Aang grinned and clapped him on the shoulder before returning back to the fire pit and taking out a burning pair of long pliers and motioned for Katara to step up. She did so and offered her hand which Aang took reluctantly. "I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt a little." She nodded and took a deep breath before squeezing her eyes shut, ready for the pain. He gently closed the pliers onto her finger which made her yelp a little, but she remained still until Aang took it off and admired her mark. She walked back as Sokka came up and took his, yelping loudly at first contact with the pliers and then walked back with a giant smile on his face. Everyone followed suit until it was just Teo. Teo walked up and stood proudly in front of him. "I'm really proud of you, Teo. You're a real warrior now, and I'm glad that I get to be your best friend," he whispered, making Teo smile before he closed the pliers on his hand. Teo yelped but took the pain in stride until Aang put the pliers back into the fire. "You have all taken the pledge and received the mark of my people." They all looked down at their hands and were surprised as the skin cooled down and noticed the symbol of a lightning bolt. "You are all now honorary Stormborns, and have learned all that I have to teach you. Welcome to the team everyone."

"Yeah! Team Stormborn!" Sokka cheered, earning unamused looks from everyone. "Whatever," he huffed with his arms crossed. Aang grinned and walked over to a corner of the room and brought out a box.

"Now, for you guys joining me in my fight to protect the city, I have some pledge gifts for you," he told them as he rummaged through the box. He pulled out four water skins and walked over to Katara. "For you." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek before admiring her gift. Aang walked back to the box and pulled out a large coal black sword and a leather sheathe, making Sokka gasp. Aang laughed at his expression and handed it to him. "This sword is made out of meteorite, and has been imbued with the power to temporarily control air, water, earth, or fire against your enemies. It only does one element at a time though, just so you know." Sokka nodded as he stared at his sword in awe and practiced a few swings with it. Aang walked back to the box and pulled out a stick, making Suki confused.

"You're giving me a stick?" she asked in disbelief.

Aang chuckled and shook his head. "It's not a stick," he assured her. He flicked it open to reveal a large, wide, and golden fan with a lightning symbol on it. "This fan is made of metal and is good for both offense and defense," he explained as he used it like a shield and swung at Sokka with it who just barely managed to duck in time. "It also is lightning-proof."

Suki smiled widely and took it with a grin. "Thank you," she bowed to him in respect.

He just smiled and walked back to the box before pulling out some shurikens and a bottle along with a different looking kind of bracer. Zuko looked at him in confusion. "You're giving me medicine and another bracer?"

Aang shook his head. "This bracer is a fire amplifier," he explained as he showed him a button on the side of it. "When you fight and need more juice for your bending, press this button and you'll be a lot stronger than normal." Zuko nodded and took off his old bracer and put on the new one, admiring it in the light. "And as for your second gift, I think you'll like it."

"Why does he get two gifts?" Sokka complained.

Katara glared at him. "Sokka, you got a Meteorite sword that allows you to somewhat bend each of the elements. You _really_ want to complain about not getting a bottle?" Sokka remained silent, giving her her answer.

Zuko took the bottle and looked up at Aang in more confusion as it had nothing on it. "What exactly is this?"

Aang smiled softly and patted him on the back. "This… this is what is going to rid you of your scar," he told him softly, making everyone in the room gasp as Zuko's eyes widened in complete surprise. He looked down at the bottle and looked up back at Aang with the utmost gratitude in his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered hoarsely. "I don't know how I could ever thank you for this-"

Aang waved him off with a grin. "Don't worry about it. Just consider it a welcome to the team." Zuko gave him another grateful look and put the bottle in his pocket. Aang turned to Mai.

"So you're giving me more shurikens, huh?" she asked disinterestedly.

"These aren't your average shurikens," he assured her as he showed her one. "Watch." He threw one at a wall and watched as it sunk into it. He then took a ring from his pocket and put it on before waving it over to him, watching it slowly float to him until he could grab it. "As long as you have this ring on, these shurikens will come back to you when you need them. Also, they are made with the toughest metal I could find and can never be broken." Mai actually smiled a little and nodded to him as he handed the shurikens and the ring to her which she put on her index finger. Aang walked back to the box and dug through it until he walked to Toph with a chunk of rock in his hand.

"Well gee, thanks Twinkle Toes," Toph muttered sarcastically. "Just what I wanted. Some rock."

Aang laughed and shook his head. "This isn't just any rock," he told her as he handed it to her. "It's Meteorite that was left over from making Sokka's sword." Her eyes widened in surprise and she looked at it in amazement.

"Sweetness," she grinned as she started playing with it, shaping it into different things.

"Not only is it fun to play with, it also has a different purpose," he explained as he grabbed it from her. He concentrated on the meteorite and made it expand until it was a large pile of meteorite, making everyone in the room gasp. "This meteorite is special. If you concentrate enough, it can be stretched up to ten times what it originally was, in case you ever need Earth to fight with."

Toph's wolfish grin could be seen by everyone. "Sweetness," she repeated before shrinking the meteorite back down and putting it on her arm in the form of a bracelet.

Last but not least, Aang walked over to the box and pulled out a patch with a lightning symbol on it, making Teo confused. "How did you get that?" he asked with a tilted head. "I helped you with all of the other gifts."

Aang nodded with a grin. "You did, but I wanted your gift to be a surprise." He put the patch on Teo's jacket and pressed a button, causing Teo to feel a rush of adrenaline shooting through his body. "This patch not only will give you extra energy and strength, but will also allow you to do small amounts of lightning capabilities."

"Really?" Teo gasped with wide eyes. Aang nodded with a smile and Teo looked down at his fingertips. He tried focusing some lightning into his fingers and was amazed to see it sliding down to his blade. "This…is...so… awesome!" he cheered, making Aang laugh before returning his attention to the whole group except for Ty who just smiled and walked over to Mai and Zuko.

Aang returned to the front of the group and gave them all a warm smile. "You are all part of this team now. We're a family now," he said with a smile at Katara. "If we work together, we can take down Ozai and bring this city back to how it should be. Are you with me?" Everyone cheered and raised a hand in the air. "Good," he grinned. "Now let's go get some breakfast."

"This day just keeps getting better!" Sokka cheered loudly, making everyone else in the room laugh as they walked out. Aang stayed behind for a moment and walked to the end of the hall, pressing a few buttons on a set of armor and having it slide out of the way to reveal a note. He looked down at it in its glass case and sighed.

"I miss you guys," Aang whispered as he felt tears prick his eyes. "You were the best parents ever. I wish I could have saved you." He took a deep breath and felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked to see Katara standing there with a sad smile.

"Is everything alright, Sweetie?" she asked gently.

He nodded and wiped a tear away before turning to her. "Yeah, I just miss my parents sometimes."

She gave him a hug, trying her best to comfort him as well as she could. "I know, but even if they're not here with us, they'll always be with you. Just like my mother will always be with me." He nodded and looked gratefully at her. "Come on," she offered her hand. "Let's go get some breakfast."

"Okay," Aang nodded. He closed the armor-door and took her hand.

"You know I'll always be here for you, right?" Katara asked gently.

He smiled and nodded. "And you know I'll always be here for _you_, right?" She nodded with a smile and they walked out to join their friends, enjoying each others' comfort as they walked.

* * *

Loud music boomed from the bros' cave, as it was a Friday night and no one had anything to do, making a very happy Teo. It had been a while since he could get an actual bros night, especially since the last one had been canceled because of having to chase down Azula, so he wanted to make up for it tonight. He looked around and admired everything he had set up. Bob was making pizzas for everyone, there was plenty of beer in the mini fridge in the corner, he already had a few games ready to go so they could play as long as they wanted. Everything was just how he wanted it to be.

"Hey buddy!" Aang grinned as he walked in. "Looks like you've got everything set up."

Teo nodded excitedly. "Yep. Bob's making our pizzas now, we can have as much beer as we want, and we can play video games all night long."

Aang laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Sounds good buddy." Sokka finally came in and his stomach instantly growled as he smelled the cooking pizzas.

"Are those done yet?" he asked hopefully.

Teo shook his head. "Sorry man, not yet. Maybe another ten minutes or so." Sokka sighed and went over to the fridge to grab a beer. And finally Zuko came in with his scar gone, making everyone in the room gasp. "Whoa, that's awesome!"

Zuko actually smiled for once. "Yeah, I know. I'm pretty happy about it too." He walked over to Aang and gave him a bear hug, making Aang chuckle and awkwardly patted him on the back.

"Um… you're welcome?" Aang laughed.

Zuko pulled away sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just that I never thought I would be free of my scar." He felt the skin where his scar had once been. "You have no idea how thankful I am for that."

Aang grinned and clapped him on the back, making Zuko wince as he did his best not to show the pain stinging throughout his body. "It's no problem at all, Zuko. You've earned it." He went to the mini fridge and grabbed a beer for Zuko, Teo, and himself and handed it to them. "Now let me propose a toast. To our new team, and more importantly to bros night!"

"To bros night!" everyone agreed and clinked their bottles together before taking a drink. The pizza finally came out and were set down on the counter, ready to be eaten.

Sokka drooled a little as he looked at five different pizzas. "What are you guys going to eat?" he joked, making everyone else laugh. They all dug into the pizza and sat down to watch some tv while they ate. "So," Sokka looked at Teo with a mouthful, "How's it going with Toph?" '

Teo blushed a little. "Well… we're sort of going out now," he admitted, earning some "Alrights" and "good job buddy"s. "Thanks guys. Though I should really thank Aang."

"Why thank Aang?" Sokka questioned a little angrily. "I'm the one who let it slip that she likes you."

Teo nodded. "Yeah, but if Aang hadn't told you that, then it wouldn't have slipped out in the first place."

Aang snickered and looked over to Teo as he took a sip of beer. "Okay, how about you thank both of us since we both helped you out?"

Teo pretended to think about it for a moment just to get Sokka riled up, which worked perfectly as Sokka was getting angrier. "Fine," he finally sighed. "Thank you, Sokka."

"You're welcome," Sokka grumbled with a roll of his eyes as he started eating another slice. Everyone laughed and went back to watching tv.

"So someone's got a girlfriend, huh?" Teo teased Aang.

Aang rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so do you. I don't know what you're teasing me about."

Teo shrugged as he took another bite of his pizza. "I don't know, it just doesn't seem real. You used to swear up and down that you would never have a girlfriend until you "retired" from the business, so it's kind of weird to see that you have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Aang agreed as he took a sip of beer. "I didn't think it was a good idea to do anything since I wanted to protect the city, but Sokka actually convinced me that I needed to tell her how I feel."

Teo looked over to Sokka in surprise. "Really?" Sokka nodded without taking his eyes off the screen. "And you do realize that you encouraging him led to him taking your sister's virginity?"

Sokka felt puke in the back of his throat come up, but he forced it back down and shook his head. "Yeah, unfortunately I do." He paused for a moment as he looked down at his food. "But if anyone had to take her virginity, at least it was someone I know I can trust that won't hurt her."

"Awwww" Teo and Zuko mock awed him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sokka waved them off. "Now come on, I want to play some video games." Before he could get the chance to move, there was a knock on the door, taking everyone by surprise. Curious, Aang got up from his seat and opened it to reveal the girls standing there. "Um, hey guys. What's up?" he asked in confusion.

"We're bored," Toph huffed as she blew her hair out of her eyes.

Sokka looked confused. "Okay, and?" he asked with a questioning glance to them all.

"We want to dance with you guys," Katara told Aang with a smile.

Zuko looked at Mai in disbelief. "_You_ want to dance, Mai?"

Mai shrugged. "I'm bored and these guys aren't any fun," she sighed in resignation.

"Hey!" the rest of them complained, making the guys chuckle.

"I don't know…" Teo said unsurely. "I'm not a good dancer and I've got two left feet and I-" but was cut off by Toph who grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room.

Aang snickered a little. "Well I guess he doesn't have much choice then." He turned his attention to Katara with a smile. "Okay, let's go dance."

"Wait a minute!" Sokka objected with a hand in the air. "This is supposed to be bros' night! Not bros and our girlfriends night!"

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. "Sokka, it's just for a little bit. You can go back to your 'bro time' after we're done." Sokka still didn't look very happy about it. Katara sighed and looked to Suki. "Would you mind?"

Suki grinned. "Not at all, Kat." She walked up to Sokka and gave him a long kiss on the lips, making Sokka melt with a goofy look on his face as she pulled him out of the room.

Aang couldn't help but laugh at his friend. "Well, I guess that's settled." Katara smiled and grabbed his hand before dragging him out of the room. Zuko looked at Mai expectantly.

"What?" she questioned dully.

"The other guys got pulled out of the room, so why can't I?" he asked with a tilted head and sad eyes.

Mai shook her head quickly and tried to avoid his gaze. "Don't you dare give me the sad eyes, Zuko." He put more sadness into them and she finally gave up with a sigh. "Fine, come on." She grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the room while Zuko laughed, making her smile a little.

"Did I just see you smile?" Zuko asked proudly.

"No you didn't and if you tell anyone, I will make sure that we never have children," she warned menacingly, making him gulp with a quick nod. "Good. Now let's go." Zuko smiled again and followed her out to the dance room where Aang was picking out some tunes, Sokka was trying and failing to beat Suki at dancing, and Toph was showing Teo some of her dance moves.

Teo groaned as he almost tripped himself trying to repeat a move Toph had shown him. "Do I really have to do this?" he whined.

"Yes, you do," Toph assured him with a pat on the back. He groaned again and got back to work as Aang finally made his way back to Katara.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a silly bow.

She giggled and smiled at him. "Of course you may," she answered with a curtsy. She took his hand and let him spin her around, gasping as he pulled her down into a dip after a few twirls. "Wow, I didn't know you were such a good dancer."

He grinned. "What can I say? You need to know how to dance if you want to sneak into your enemies' parties." She just laughed and allowed him to twirl her back up to a standing position before resuming their dance. Meanwhile, Sokka and Suki were attempting to do the waltz.

"Sokka! Stop stepping on my toes!" Suki complained with a wince every time they took a step.

"It's not like I'm trying to," Sokka argued as he tried to take the lead. Suki rolled her eyes and took over.

"Look Sokka, just take a deep breath and look at me," she instructed him. He did as he was told and looked her in the eyes. "Good. Now, just focus on small steps. You're used to taking big steps, but this is something that requires little steps. Just pretend like you're walking on eggshells." He nodded and worked on his footing until he had gotten it right. "There you go! I knew you could do it!"

He grinned and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks, Suki. Now let's do this thing." She smiled and allowed him to take the lead as they moved across the floor. Zuko and Mai were standing there on the dance floor when Sokka noticed them. "Hey! If I can do this, I know that you guys can! What are you waiting for?"

Zuko shrugged as he gestured to Mai. "She dragged me all the way out here and doesn't even want to dance, apparently."

Suki gave Mai a scolding look. "Come on, Mai! Lighten up a little. It's just a little dancing."

"I don't know how to dance," Mai admitted sheepishly while looking down at her feet. She became surprised when Zuko took one hand in his and put the other on his shoulder.

"Then I'll show you," he told her simply with a smile, making her smile a little back. "It's really easy once you get it down. It goes like this." He started showing her what to do while Ty Lee danced by herself in another part of the room. Noticing this, Aang decided to stop their dance and change the song.

"Okay, now how about we change it up a bit?" Everyone groaned a little but understood when he flicked his eyes over to Ty Lee who looked bored. He put on some party music and got everyone moving. "Come on, Ty!" Aang called her over as he joined the group. She smiled and followed him and danced next to Zuko and Mai who were awkwardly trying to copy what the others were doing, having never done anything like it before. Katara grabbed Aang's hand and pulled him close to her as they danced, making them both smile as they stared into each others' eyes.

"Where did you learn to dance?" Katara asked curiously.

He shrugged with a smile. "My parents taught me most of what I know before I came here. Then I learned some of the more advanced stuff when I realized that I would need to know how to dance well to get into parties."

She laughed a little. "Well that makes sense. I'm glad that you know how to dance, though. I love to dance. Especially since my Mother taught me how to."

"I wish I could have met her," he told her softly.

A tear threatened to fall from Katara's eye, but she held it back and nodded quickly. "Yeah, I wish you could have, too. She would've loved you."

He smiled a little and kissed her forehead. "Well from what Sokka tells me, you're exactly like her."

Katara smiled hopefully. "Really?" He nodded. "Thanks. I'll have to beat up Sokka for not telling me that earlier," she joked, making him chuckle. "Come on, let's take this up a notch." She turned around and started grinding on him, making him moan a little as she dug into him.

"Hey! No dirty dancing!" Sokka ordered while Sokka was getting the same from Suki.

"You're such a hypocrite, Sokka!" Katara groaned with a roll of her eyes without stopping. "I'm twenty-three years old. I can do whatever I want." Sokka was about to argue again when Suki stepped in.

"Sokka, I would suggest dropping your argument, otherwise I'll stop doing this," she told him with a serious look over her shoulder. He sighed and nodded, making Katara get back to work with a smile as she placed Aang's hands on her hips.

Teo looked to Toph who gave him a look. "Not happening, Tinkerbell," she refused adamantly.

He groaned loudly and rubbed his face. "Now you're going to call me Tinkerbell?" Toph nodded with a smirk. "Fine," he sighed in resignation, making her laugh before going back to dancing. Zuko looked to Mai who shrugged and started doing it for him. Teo looked back to Toph. "But even _Mai's _doing it." Toph shook her head again. "Please?" he asked with sad eyes, making Toph finally cave in.

"Fine, but don't get any ideas," she warned him as she started moving to his front. Again, Ty Lee was left alone and Aang sighed. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to get her to not be alone. While he was lost in his thoughts, Katara noticed this as well. As much as she didn't want anyone doing anything with her boyfriend, she knew what she had to do. "Hey Ty!" Ty Lee looked up at her.

"Yeah?" she asked curiously.

"You want to come dance with us?" she asked reluctantly, making Ty Lee smile widely.

"I would love to!" she cheered as she walked over to them and joined Katara in grinding against him, making harden more.

Aang chuckled nervously and tried to think of what to do. Deciding on being nice, he let them do what they wanted. Sokka looked at him in disbelief. "Why does he get two girls grinding on him and I don't?" he grumbled.

Suki turned around and looked at him. "Okay, I guess that's it for the show today," she told him, making his eyes go wide.

"No, no! I'm sorry! Can we please go back to where we were?" he asked a little desperately. She sighed and resumed her work on him, making him sigh in relief. "Thank you," he whispered gratefully.

Suki just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Just enjoy the show." He smiled and nodded before putting his hand back on her hips. After a few more minutes of dancing, Aang decided that if this went any further, he might lose it.

"Okay! How about we change up the song!" he suggested as he ran for the DJ booth. Everyone laughed at his eagerness and changed their dancing as they got closer into the group and did their own thing.

"Is someone scared of girls?" Toph teased as she finished grinding on Teo, much to his disappointment.

Aang shook his head as he returned to Katara while Ty Lee went back to her friends. "I'm not afraid of girls, but I don't want to have a… _situation_ right now if you don't mind," he admitted sheepishly.

Toph snorted and shook her head at him. "Whatever you say Twinkletoes!" she yelled before she pulled Teo over to a corner of the room and started making out with him, making the rest of the group laugh as they watched their friends.

Aang couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips as he and Katara started dancing again. "I have some interesting friends," he told her with a smile as he spun her around.

"You do," she agreed with a smile as he spun her again and brought her in for a quick dip, taking her by surprise once again as she stared into his piercing gaze. "You're a really great dancer, you know," she laughed breathlessly.

Aang chuckled and pulled her close so that they were face to face. "Thanks. You're really good, too. I've always wanted a girl who can dance."

Katara smiled widely. "Really?" He nodded with a slight blush. "Well I'm glad that I could be what you want," she said with her smile intact.

He smiled and pulled her closer, his lips grazing hers as her breath caught in her throat as their eyes met. "You'll always be what I want," he told her with pure love in his eyes, making her smile wider and smash her lips to his, making him smile against her lips as he kissed her back.

"Will you two cut it out?" Sokka groaned as he and Suki resumed their regular dance. "It's bad enough that I know you guys have sex when I'm not around, I don't need to see my sister getting mushy with my best friend."

Katara glared at him without moving her face. "Butt out, Sokka! I have to see you and Suki kiss all of the time, so I don't want to hear it!"

He was about to argue more, but Suki kissed him again and he finally gave up as they continued to dance, making both Aang and Katara give her a grateful look. "Thanks Suki," Aang whispered as he and Katara moved closer to them.

"No problem," Suki grinned before returning her attention to her boyfriend. The group enjoyed their time together for a while until their energy had been spent. Agreeing that they should return to their separate parties, they made their way back and started where they had left off.

"Finally!" Sokka grumbled as he turned on the playstation. "That took forever!"

Zuko rolled his eyes at him. "You got grinded on by your girlfriend for over half an hour and you're _complaining _about it?" he asked in disbelief.

Sokka blushed in embarrassment. "I'm not complaining about that, but this is our bros' night! We should have been playing Call of Duty by now!" he complained slightly.

"Well now we can do that all night," Aang assured him with a pat on the back. Sokka grinned and handed him a controller while Zuko and Teo watched them play.

"So," Zuko started as he looked at Teo with a grin. "It looked like you and Toph were having fun."

Teo blushed and nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, she's definitely not shy. Which is funny because I am," he laughed before getting up to get another beer while Aang had killed Sokka.

"Will you stop killing me, Aang?" he whined as he respawned again.

Aang laughed and shook his head. "Sorry Sokka, but I don't just let people win. You're going to have to earn it." He paused and grinned at him. "I'll tell you what. If you come back and win, I'll give you twenty bucks."

Sokka grinned, not even caring that Aang had just killed him again. "Sounds good to me," he responded before going back to the game.

Teo laughed at Sokka and got up to change the song. "You're a very uncomplicated man, Sokka," he told him with a smirk.

Sokka didn't bother looking away from the screen. "Thanks," he replied simply before groaning at having been killed again by Aang. Before their conversation could be continued, there was another knock on the door, making him groan. "We're not dancing again!" he called as he walked over to the door. The girls were there again, but this time they had a more serious look on their faces. "What's up with you guys?" he asked with a raised brow.

Mai pushed him aside and walked up to Aang. "We've got some news on my Uncle." Aang nodded, indicating he was listening. "I texted him and asked if we could meet up somewhere to talk. Apparently he doesn't know that I joined you guys and he's agreed to meet us at his training facility tomorrow at noon."

Aang pondered this for a few moments. "So we can talk to him tomorrow?" She nodded with her serious look intact. "Okay then. I guess we've got to try. It'll be me, you, Zuko, Toph, and Katara and Sokka to make sure that we have enough in case things go south. Sound good?" Everyone nodded. "Okay then. Let's just try to not think about it right now so we can enjoy the rest of our night."

"Okay," Mai agreed. The girls walked back out of the room and left the guys in silence.

"So," Aang started as he looked at Zuko. "Do you really think you'll be okay if we have to kill her Uncle? Because it's possible that it could come to that."

Zuko frowned a little but nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, I'll be okay. The guy's really cool, but I'm not as close to him as Mai is. She's the one I'm worried about."

Aang nodded as he stared down at his drink. "Well, I hope for both of your sakes that it doesn't come to that," he told him gently.

"Yeah, me too," Zuko agreed sadly, thinking about the sad look on Mai's face if it did come to that. "Well, no point in worrying about it now. We'll just have to see what happens."

Sokka patted him on the back and handed him another beer. "Yep. So for now let's have some fun!" he cheered, making everyone else cheer back as they resumed their happy moods. Five hours later, everyone but Aang had passed out where they sat from having had too much beer.

He laughed a little at them. "You people are lightweights if I've ever seen one," he grinned before he let out a yawn and decided to go to bed. He carried each of them to their rooms and went to bed himself. He was surprised to find Katara there waiting for him. "Katara? What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion.

She smiled and gestured for him to lay down with her which he did. "Well… I figured that since we have a dangerous mission tomorrow that you could use some comfort."

Aang smiled and kissed her. "Well thanks. It'll be nice having you in my arms again." She smiled again and dug herself into his embrace, feeling comforted in his warmth. "Goodnight Katara," he murmured into her hair.

"Goodnight Aang," she murmured back as they both fell into a deep sleep.


	11. Chapter 11: Family Values

Chapter 11: Family Values

**Hey guys! I just wanted to say real quick thank you to those of you who have been keeping up with my stories even though I've been taking forever to write them. I've been working a lot lately and I wish I had more time to write, but I appreciate your patience, so thanks for waiting for me to upload even though it's a lot slower than it used to be. Also, I want to say I'm sorry for not responding to reviews. I've been so busy trying to write out these chapters, I haven't been able to take a look at the reviews. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! **

* * *

**Responses to reviews: **

**Kataraang/KataangFan: I'm glad that you've been enjoying it! Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Ashley Barbosa: Yep, you're absolutely right. The last chapter was the calm before the Storm, so be ready for things to get really intense. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Yangchen: I'm glad that you like it so much! It's always nice to hear that people are enjoying my stories. This story has about four more chapters after this one, so it won't be a short story, but it's not going to be a long one either. Sorry if you were hoping for a longer one. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Javier: I'm glad that you're enjoying it! Yeah, their safehouse **_**is **_**pretty big. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**CassieLiam4: I'm glad that you've been enjoying it! I'm updating as fast as I can so you guys can enjoy. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

The next day, everyone was grim as they prepared for what they had to do. None were as grim as Mai, though, due to her worry from what her Uncle would say when asked to stop selling his soldiers. He was a great Uncle to her, but she also knew that he loved to make money. She hoped that he would listen to reason and side with them, but she had her doubts. One way or another, this day would be interesting it seemed. The selected people got themselves ready by sharpening their blades and making sure their guns were loaded, ensuring that they would be ready for anything. Zuko walked up to her as she was lost in her thoughts. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked gently despite already knowing the answer.

She let out a long sigh and nodded slowly. "Yeah… I'm just worried. I don't want him to die…"

"I know, My Love," he comforted her with a hug which she didn't reject. "But if anyone has a shot of making him switch sides, it's you. If he's not willing to sacrifice something like that for his family, then maybe he doesn't deserve to be in your family."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she admitted with another sigh. "I just hope it doesn't come to that."

He hugged her again and she hugged him back. "I know, but we've got to do what's best for this city. It's not about what we want anymore, but what's best for everybody."

She looked at him in surprise. "I thought you were in this for revenge and for your freedom?" she asked in surprise, looking at him as if he had grown an extra head.

"It was at first," he admitted with a shamed look on his face. "But the longer I've been here, the longer I've seen just how much damage my Father and Sister have done to this city." He paused as his shame grew deeper. "What _I've_ done to this city."

"You didn't know what you were doing," Mai argued. "You were just following the orders your father gave you so that you could survive."

Zuko didn't look convinced. "Yeah, but it's better to die than to hurt others. Now that I've seen how selfless Aang is, I can't believe how selfish I've been. All I've been thinking about is myself ever since my Father burned me. Even on our first date, I insisted on picking the place to eat." He looked down at his feet. "Why do you love me? I've been so selfish for so long. Why do you still want me?" he asked lowly.

She raised his face up to look her in the eyes. "I want you because I love you, Zuko. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes and suffer from it. I don't care if you were a bit selfish when we were younger. I've loved you since we were kids and I'll always love you. You having selfish moments here and there isn't going to make me go away," she told him with a smile, making him smile back.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" he asked with adoration shining in his eyes.

Mai attempted to shrug it off but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Oh, maybe here and there," she responded fake-uncaringly, but Zuko didn't buy it for a second.

"Well I love you so much, Mai. You mean everything to me," he whispered as he took her hand and looked down at the ring on her hand. "Once this is over… once all the ashes have settled and everything's back to how it should be… I think we should get married right away."

Mai's eyes widened. "What do you mean 'right away'?"

"I mean right away," Zuko repeated with a smile. "As soon as we possibly can. I don't want to spend anymore time not being married to you. I love you and I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Why wait when we don't know when we're going to die? Once this is all over, I want to be yours forever."

She couldn't keep the wide smile off her face so she pretended to yawn and covered it with her hand. "Okay," she shrugged, trying her best to be nonchalant. "If that's what you want." He smiled and kissed her, making her smile against his lips as she kissed him back.

"Um, sorry to ruin the moment, but Aang said it's almost time to go," Sokka interrupted them as he stood awkwardly in front of them.

They quickly pulled apart and blushed in embarrassment. "Uh, gotcha Sokka. We'll be there soon." Sokka nodded and left without another word. They gave each other a small smile as Zuko stood up and offered a hand to her. "Shall we?"

Mai pretended to roll her eyes, but he just laughed as she took his hand and followed him to the elevator as they went up to the war room. A few minutes later, they arrived and were greeted by everyone. "Hey look! The lovebirds finally got here!" Sokka taunted.

"Says you, Sokka!" Katara smirked. "You and Suki were five minutes late."

"Yeah, well we were… busy," he admitted, making Suki and him blush as everyone else groaned.

"We really didn't need to know that Sokka," Aang rolled his eyes before getting back to business. "Go ahead and take a seat." They did as they were told as he pulled out his hologram map, but this time it was zoomed in on the training area for the mercs. "Alright, so here's the plan. Mai is going to go in with Zuko and talk to The Warden. Meanwhile, me, Katara, Sokka, and Toph will go around the perimeter and take out any guards that might get in the way in case things go south. If you feel like you're in danger, let out a low whistle and I'll hear you and know to jump in. One way or another, Ozai stops getting his mercs today. Sound like a plan?" Everyone nodded. "Good." He closed the map and put it back under the table. "Everyone who's coming with us get your gear and meet me in the hanger. We're going to need a quick getaway vehicle in case things get really bad. Any questions?" Zuko raised his hand. "Yeah, Zuko?"

Zuko put his hand down. "If we do convince him to stop dealing with my Father, how do we know he'll actually stop?"

"That's a good question, Zuko. And one I've already got the answer to," he replied as he pulled out a small circle that fit on his thumb. "This here is not only a bug, but it also makes whoever wears it truthful. If he does agree to help, then we'll sneak this on him and question him to see what his true intentions are. If he's truly okay with switching sides, then we'll find out with this thing on him. Any other questions?" No one said anything. "Okay." He turned to Mai. "And real quick before I forget, in case he doesn't agree to it, as a last resort, offer for us to pay him for his mercs. If he agrees, we'll use them as the first line of defense to make sure that the city stays safe and that way you get to keep your uncle. Sound good?" Mai nodded with a small smile, feeling a little more hopeful since that offer was on the table. "Okay then. Let's get started." Everyone nodded and walked away to get their gear, leaving Aang alone with his thoughts.

"Hey, are you okay?" Katara asked as she walked up to him with her jacket on.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I just don't really know what to think. I don't want Mai to have to give up her Uncle, but I also know that people who are in this line of business don't do it for any other reason than money. I'm not sure if he'll even accept our offer to pay him for his mercs."

She gave him a hug. "It's going to be okay, Aang. One way or another, Mai will be fine. I'm sure she loves her Uncle, but if he isn't willing to do something like that for his niece, then he doesn't really deserve to be her uncle."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he agreed quietly as he hugged her back. "I just would feel bad. I know what it's like to lose a family member to war."

She hugged him tighter and kissed his cheek. "I know, but this has to be done. One way or another, Ozai needs to stop getting soldiers. Mai knows that, and she'll understand if her Uncle won't help." He was still unsure, but he just nodded in response with a sigh. "Come on. We've got a big day ahead of us."

"Unfortunately," he agreed reluctantly. "I just don't want anyone to have to go through what I went through."

She gave him a hug which he returned, feeling her comfort spread over him. "I know, but we don't have much choice," she pointed out. "All we can do is hope that Mai can talk him into it."

Aang nodded against her shoulder. "Yeah… I guess you're right."

"Come on," she offered her hand as she pulled away. He took it with a smile as they walked to the elevator and went down.

* * *

An hour later, everyone on the mission met up in the hangar, gasping at all the different vehicles there. There was everything from Jet Skis to military grade bombing jets. There were some vehicles that looked more… _specialized_ than the rest. For instance, the one Aang was walking towards as they all followed. It appeared to be a Jet-helicopter hybrid that had room for twenty people in it. "Okay everybody, to make sure that we go in undetected, we're taking our stealth jet so that we have an easy escape should we need it." Sokka raised his hand. "Yes Sokka?"

"Why is it called a Stealth Jet?" Sokka wondered as he looked at it. "It doesn't exactly look stealthy."

Aang grinned and clicked a button on his keys, making the vehicle disappear before their eyes as they all gasped in amazement. "_That's_ why. When we go in, no one will be able to see or hear us, and we'll land close enough so that we can get away quickly if we need to."

"Gotcha," Sokka grinned in response and nodded.

"Okay, once we're on the move, there's not going to be a lot of time to talk, so let's go over the plan again," Aang said as he looked at them all in the eyes. "Mai and Zuko will go in and talk to her Uncle. Me and Katara will flank the left side and take out any soldiers that could get in our way while Sokka and Toph go in our right."

Toph rolled her eyes and blew hair from her face. "Do I have to work with Meathead?" she groaned.

Sokka glared at her. "Who said I wanted to work with you?" he shot back, making her get angry as well.

"Okay guys," Aang interrupted before they could go any further. "I know you guys have some sort of a feud, but you guys need to learn how to work together, okay?" Neither of them said anything as they looked away from each other with their arms crossed. "_Okay_?" Aang asked more forcefully.

"Okay," they sighed in unison as they uncrossed their arms and nodded to each other.

"Good," Aang smiled before turning back to the rest of the group. "Anyway, like I told you earlier, if you think that you're in any kind of danger, just whistle and we'll come help you out. Sound like a plan?" Everyone nodded. "Okay. Let's get this started." They all filed into the vehicle and were amazed as a set of doors on the ceiling opened up for them to go out. Aang climbed into the cockpit with Katara at his side and took control of the jet. "Hold on tight!" he laughed as he started it up. Everyone grabbed something to hold on and they flew out of the hangar, leaving a patch of disturbed grass as they flew away towards the training facility.

"That is so cool," Sokka said in awe as he watched the doors go back into the ground, making it look like nothing had been there in the first place.

Aang chuckled as he flew towards his destination. "Yeah, I think it's pretty cool, too. What do you think, Kat?" he asked as he glanced at her.

She smiled as she looked at him. "I think it was pretty cool, too," she admitted as she kissed his cheek, making him smile as they quickly came up on the area.

"We're coming up on the training facility," Aang told them as he activated the camoflauge. "We're going to land twenty feet away from the center to make sure that no one finds it and make our way to the front." Everyone nodded in response and waited as he landed it in a clearing twenty feet away from the facility. "Okay, you all know the plan. Good luck everybody." They all nodded again and went their separate ways. Mai and Zuko started walking to the front where they came across the familiar gate that they had gone to a thousand times for years. As they reached the entrance, one of the guards greeted them.

"It's nice to see you again Lady Mai and Prince Zuko," he bowed to them. "Your uncle is waiting for you out in the courtyard."

"Thank you," Mai responded stiffly, trying to hide the fear that was coursing through her veins. The guard nodded and radioed in.

"Open the gates!" The doors opened slowly and he gestured for them to walk in which they did. As they walked in, something seemed different about the place. It seemed to be more quiet than it usually did. From what she could recall, her uncle usually had soldiers constantly moving along the perimeter of the building to make sure that there were no stowaways or stragglers, but she couldn't see any as they walked down the halls. _That's odd_, she thought to herself as she wondered where they were. Shaking it off, they walked through the building until they reached the courtyard where her Uncle was talking to an advisor.

"Yes, we'll have to have that taken care of quickly. You know how much the bounty is…" he trailed off when he heard footsteps. He turned around and saw his niece and her fiance. "Ah, it's good to see you Mai!"

Mai smiled and walked up to give him a hug. "It's good to see you too, Uncle. How's life been for you lately?"

"Oh you know, just been staying busy with whipping my soldiers into shape," he laughed as she noticed Aang and Katara taking out guards on the rooftop to her left. "So, you said you wanted to talk to me about something?" he asked as he started walking to the fountain in the middle of the courtyard." Mai nodded and looked around as she noticed there were guards at each entrance, making her start to worry.

"Yeah," she started unsurely, trying to decide whether or not to call for backup yet. Deciding against it, she shook her head and looked at him. "Could we talk about this in a more _private_ place?"

The Warden tilted his head as he looked at her. "What? Are we actually talking about something serious? I thought you just wanted to catch up?" he asked in confusion.

"I do want to catch up," she assured him. " But I also came here for another reason."

"And what would that be?" he asked curiously with a suspicious glint in his eyes. Mai was getting more worried by the second, but she knew she had to go through with it no matter what.

"Well…" she started, unsure where to start off asking him to stop trying to make money.

Zuko cut in, saving her from having to say anything. "We have a proposition for you," he told him unflinchingly.

"Oh! A _business_ discussion then! Well, what did you want to ask?"

"We would like to see if you might consider not hiring out your soldiers to my Father," Zuko said slowly, waiting for something bad to happen.

The Warden became more confused. "And why would I do that? More importantly, why would _you_ want your father to have less soldiers to protect himself?"

Zuko gulped and looked down at his feet, feeling his confidence drain from him under his fiance's uncle's piercing gaze. "I don't work for him anymore…" he admitted quietly, taking the Warden by not much surprise.

"Is that so?" he asked without mock surprise in his voice. "I couldn't tell by you asking me to stop selling to him. Why aren't you working for him anymore?"

"Because he's done too many bad things to be allowed to continue," Zuko replied more confidently. "And your soldiers are the only thing keeping us from stopping him."

"Us?" the Warden asked in more confusion.

"Us," Mai agreed as she looked at him. "We're with Stormborn now."

The Warden finally smiled at them. "Thank you. That's all I wanted to hear," he told them, taking them by surprise.

"Really?" Zuko asked in disbelief.

"Really," the Warden agreed with an evil smirk. "Gentleman?" The soldiers moved from their positions at the exits and pointed their guns at Zuko and Mai.

Mai glared at her Uncle. "This was all a trap!"

"Yes it was," he agreed with a laugh. "I'm sorry that it had to come to this, Mai, but the bounty on you and your fiance's head was too large to pass up. I'm sure you understand."

Mai growled at him as they raised their hands in the air. "You really care more about money than your own family?"

He yawned uncaringly in response. "Yes, I do," he shrugged simply. "I'm sorry."

She got angry and looked to see the four of her teammates perched and ready to attack on her signal. "Fine then. I guess you leave me no other choice," she glared at him.

"What other choice?" he asked incredulously. She let out a low whistle and Aang nodded to his teammates. Without another word, Aang threw a smoke bomb, obscuring the courtyard. "What the hell is happening?!" the Warden asked angrily.

"Now," Aang told them over their earpieces. They all nodded and jumped down, taking out two guards each as they landed. When the smoke finally cleared, the Warden was surrounded.

"I see," he mumbled as he glared at Mai. "So you had your own tricks up your sleeve, did you?" Mai responded by taking her shurikens out. "Fine. If that's how you want to play it. Men!" he called out to them. Soldiers came pouring in from each of the exits, all armed with electric swords. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, niece."

Mai looked down sadly for a second before she regained her composure. "Me too." Aang took the initiative and jumped two surprised guards, stabbing them equally in their chests before moving on to the next. Sokka took his sword out and took the offensive with Toph right next to him. They worked together with Toph sending him soldiers to stab and him knocking soldiers into her path to Earthbend them into the ground. Katara was doing pretty well herself. Her water whips grabbed soldiers that were out of reach and brought them to her to take their lives.

"Watch out!" Aang warned as he shot a bolt at a guard who attempted to sneak up behind Katara. Katara ducked and watched as the guard was sent reeling to a wall dead with a hole between his eyes.

"Thanks Sweetie!" she called over the noise and jumped back into the fight. Meanwhile, Mai and Zuko were fighting with her uncle.

"Is it worth it, Uncle?" Mai asked as she threw a shuriken at him that he barely managed to dodge. "All this fighting, all this suffering. Just for money?"

He just laughed in response. "At least my reasons make sense as to why I'm doing this."

Mai stopped for a second in surprise. "You call betraying your family a reason that makes sense? No true family member would turn on their family for a couple bucks."

"Then I guess I'm no true family member," he shrugged before attempting to shoot her with a gun. She batted the bullet away with her shuriken and moved up on him as Zuko attempted to sneak up on him. He heard him coming and moved out of the way as Zuko charged him, making Zuko running full force into Mai who wasn't expecting it and crashed to the ground with him on top. Zuko would have blushed in a situation like this, but now wasn't the time. Quickly getting back to their feet, they turned around and got back into the fight.

Sokka was feeling pretty good. He was holding his own pretty well, of course with the occasional save from Toph, not that he would ever admit it. There were so many guards though, and he wondered how long it would take for them to get through them all. Aang saved him this time from a guard who attempted to shoot him with lightning. "Sword (His codename in case you were wondering)! I know things are tense right now, but you need to stay focused! One wrong move and you're dead."

"Right. Sorry," he apologized sheepishly before getting back into the fight. "How you holding up sis?" he asked as he cut a path through to Katara.

"Oh, you know," Katara started as she took two guards and threw them up in the air with her water tentacles. "Just keeping busy. How about you?" she asked sarcastically.

He chuckled a little. It never failed to amaze him how even in a tense situation they still managed to have their little spats. "Let's continue this when we get out of here. We've got more important things to worry about right now."

"Yeah, sorry. It's a force of habit," she admitted before getting back to the fight. Toph sent some soldiers their way. Sokka stabbed one while Katara sent the other shooting through the crowd of soldiers. She heard a soldier coming behind her and stabbed him in his head, making him fall to the ground instantly. The sight made her grimace, but she shook it off and got back to work. "How you doing, Toph?" she called over the noise.

Toph snorted as she stabbed a soldier and sent him underground. "Doing just fine, Sugar Queen! I haven't had this much fun in years!" she yelled gleefully as she shot some Earth at another.

Katara and Sokka spared a glance at each other. "She's crazy," Sokka finally decided as he ducked a swing from another one and stabbed him in the heart with his blade and cut into another one with his sword.

"It seems like it," Katara agreed as she started moving over towards Aang after noticing that most of them were going after him. One guard tried to trip him up, but he jumped out of the way and sent electricity coursing through his body, surrounding him in an electrifying armor that made the soldiers nervous.

"Who wants to go first?" Aang joked. None of the soldiers responded, wondering if they should try their luck or not. He let out a fake sigh of disappointment. "Guess I'll have to go first." He took out his blades and shot quick bolts out most of them until there were only a few left. "Boo," he taunted them, making them all wisely run away quickly. He smirked a little. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He turned off his electricity shield and became surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Preparing himself to duck, he felt the hand come off of him and turned around quickly to see Katara stabbing the man with an ice sword. "Thanks Sweetie," he told her with a quick smile which she smiled back before going back to the fight.

Sokka stabbed a guard with his blade and sent another to Toph who slammed down on him with a boulder. More soldiers came pouring in, making him worried. "How many more of these guys are there?" he asked in annoyance as he cut a guard in half.

"This is the last of their reserves," Aang answered him as he noticed the recruit symbols on their uniforms. "We get through these guys and it's over." Sokka nodded and fought with renewed energy, content knowing it was almost over. A guard snuck up behind Katara before he could help and tripped her onto the ground, making her grunt in pain. Aang became angry and shot a quick bolt at the guard before running quickly over to her and helping her to her feet. "Are you okay, Kat?"

She nodded while rubbing her butt before getting more water out of another waterskin. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just get this over with." He nodded and looked around. There were still a lot of soldiers left, and he wasn't sure how much energy his team had left. They were starting to look worn down. Finally having enough, Aang summoned some clouds above them, blocking the sun from view and darkening their area.

"What the hell is happening?" the Warden paused in his fight as he noticed how dark it had gotten. Everyone paused and looked up to see Aang making motions towards the clouds. They all watched in a mix of horror and fascination as Aang raised his hands to the sky and extended his fingers before throwing them down, sending hundreds of small bolts of lightning at each of the soldiers, frying them to ashes in moments. After the dust had settled, all that remained of the enemy was the Warden.

"Wow. I must say, I'm impressed," the Warden admitted as he turned to Aang, but not without being aware of his surroundings. "You truly are the most powerful bender in the world." He paused and lit his hands on fire. "But it still won't be enough to save you from me. You have a large bounty on your head, and I intend to collect."

"Over my dead body," Katara growled as she got into her stance.

"As you wish," he mock bowed before getting into his stance as well. Zuko took the initiative and shot some fire at him which he just dispersed and shot some fire at Aang who broke it. The Warden turned and clucked disappointingly at Zuko. "I thought you knew better than to try such a simple move against me, Zuko."

Zuko smirked as he looked to his left. "Oh trust me, I know." The Warden became confused and followed his eyes to see Aang sneaking up on him. He barely managed to dodge Aang's blade and sent him into a wall with a strong burst of fire, making Katara furious at him.

"How dare you?!" Katara menaced, ready to kill him instantly but Sokka held her back.

"Go check on him," he murmured quietly. "We've got this." Katara didn't look so sure, but she knew she wanted to check on him anyway, so she quickly ran and got him.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly as she helped him up. He groaned and nodded slowly. "Do you want to sit this one out?" she asked carefully.

He shook his head quickly. "No, I need to get back in the fight. This is my responsibility. I have to make sure that the job gets done without anyone else getting hurt."

"A- I mean Stormborn, if you're hurt, you're only going to get hurt more. Then what good would you be to the team?" she asked seriously as she held him in place.

"But-"

"No buts about it," she argued as she leaned him up against the wall. "We can get back into the fight in a minute, but at least take a minute to let your head recover. You crashed pretty hard into that wall." He nodded reluctantly and watched as the others fought.

"You can't keep this up forever!" The Warden taunted his niece as she attempted to throw another shuriken at his forehead.

"Neither can you!" she agreed as she called it back, taking him by surprise.

He couldn't help but chuckle a little. "That's a pretty handy feature for your shurikens, but it won't be enough to save you and your friends." He noticed Zuko and Sokka behind him and quickly turned around to break them apart with a burst of flame. They both rolled out of the way and converged on him as everyone else locked him in place. "You won't get me! If Ozai can't kill me, what hope do you have?" he smirked. Before anyone could respond, he threw a quick smoke bomb and disappeared through the smoke as they all choked on the thick smog. After a few moments, the fog cleared up and they looked around quickly to see he was gone.

"Damn it!" Aang cursed as he looked around. "He can't get away! This has to be dealt with today." He thought about it for a few seconds until he remembered his sunglasses. Quickly putting them on, he said, "Brooke, track down the Warden."

"Understood," she beeped back. "Footprints matching the Warden's found." His glasses lit up and showed discreet footprints leading out of the courtyard.

"That… is… so… cool!" Sokka cheered as he stepped up and took a look at Aang's sunglasses.

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother as they all took off after Aang. "Now's not the time, Sokka! You can geek out later, right now we've got more important things to worry about!" Sokka rolled his eyes in return and followed them as Aang quickly caught up to the Warden who was attempting to get into his car.

"Sorry to break it to you," Aang said as he walked up and flexed his blade. "But I programmed all of the cars in the vicinity to not unlock without my say-so. It seems that you're stuck."

"It seems that way," he agreed. "Or is it you who's stuck with me?" he taunted as he got into a fighting stance. Toph without another word took him by surprise and launched him back into the courtyard and surrounded him with Earthen walls, ensuring that he wouldn't be able to escape again.

Sokka groaned. "We have to run _again_?" he asked tiredly.

No one answered him as they ran back to the courtyard and saw the Warden attempting to get out on his own. Toph walked up and cut open a door that would only be large enough for one person at a time to go through. The rest filed in one at a time while Sokka and Zuko stood guard at the door.

"So it comes to this, does it?" the Warden asked tiredly as he panted, having spent a lot of his energy on trying to get out.

"Yes it does," Mai agreed as she walked up to him. "It's not too late, Uncle. You can still join our side. We could pay you."

He shook his head. "No, if there's one thing I am besides greedy, it's loyal. And I will not abandon Ozai."

Mai looked at him in disgust. "How about loyalty to your family? Loyalty to your own blood?" she asked in her monotone.

"Blood means nothing," he dismissed her. "We all technically share the same blood, having come from the same two people at the beginning. Blood doesn't earn loyalty, and it doesn't make life easier."

She walked up to him and looked him in the eye. "I thought that about my mother and father, but I never thought that about you. Until today," she told him sadly. Taking a deep breath, she took out her blade and attempted to stab him in his throat, but he dodged and kicked her back into a wall, making Zuko furious.

"You'll pay for that!" Zuko yelled as he ran up to the Warden.

He just laughed at him in response. "Try your best, boy." Zuko let all of his built up anger go as he ran towards him, dodging the flames coming his way until he reached him and tackled him to the ground.

"How could you hurt your own niece, you monster?!" he asked angrily as he started punching him, making the Warden weaker with each strike. Blood dripped down from his nose as he looked up at his assailant. "What kind of Uncle would betray his own family for money?"

"The kind that knows that family means nothing in this world," he growled back before Zuko punched him again. After getting over their shock at what had happened, Katara ran over to help Mai while Aang ran over to Zuko.

"Zuko! Stop!" he commanded as he pulled him off of the Warden. "This isn't the way to do this."

Zuko glared at him. "He hurt the love of my life! What would you do if he hurt Katara?"

Aang was silent for a moment. "Of course I would want to hurt him, but what's important is sticking to the mission. We can't let this become personal, or it'll backfire on us."

"He's right you know," the Warden spoke up weakly as he wiped some blood off his lips. "One of the things I've learned after being in the mercenary business for twenty years is that those who let things become personal usually die. Just ask your mother," he taunted, making Zuko's eyes widen in shock and became red with rage. He attempted to hit him again, but Aang held him back and motioned for Sokka to help him. Sokka finally managed to reign him in and brought him back over to Mai who was rubbing her head. He finally stopped resisting and looked worriedly at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern as he checked on her.

She nodded slowly and looked around. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm probably going to have a killer headache later, though," she admitted while looking over at her Uncle. Zuko looked over and they all surrounded the fallen Warden in a circle as Aang took a knee over him and held a blade to his neck.

Aang shook his head at him. "You're a monster," he told him in all seriousness. "All you care about is money, and you don't care if you have to hurt your niece to get it. You don't deserve to live."

"None of us do," he laughed bitterly in response. "No one should be alive, yet we are. It's in our nature to do what's best for us, is it not?"

"Do you think I'm doing this for myself?" Aang questioned him seriously. The Warden was silent, refusing to say anything to his enemy. "Then you know nothing of me," he finally decided. He looked over to Mai who was glaring hatefully at her Uncle. "Do you want me to take care of him?"

Mai shook her head and walked over to her former Uncle. "No, he's my responsibility now. I've got this." Aang nodded and retracted his blade while stepping out of the way to allow Mai to take his spot. "You were a great Uncle to me when you didn't care for money as you do now, but you're just a shell of the man you used to be." The Warden glared at her as he attempted to move, but Aang and Zuko moved to hold him in place. "You are no longer a part of my family. Goodbye, Uncle." Without another word, Mai took out her blade and stabbed him in the heart, making him howl in pain as she retracted it and stepped up and took a step away to look down on him.

The Warden took one last look at her. "Even if I didn't care for you as much, I am still proud of you. You turned out to be a more than capable warrior." He took one last shallow breath and closed his eyes, feeling death finally claim him.

Mai took a deep breath as she looked at her now deceased Uncle and looked down sadly, not daring to let the tears fall. Zuko walked up to her and kissed her head. "Come on, let's get out of here." She nodded slowly and allowed him to guide her back to the jet while Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph stared at the man who was now dead.

"Does it ever get easier?" Sokka asked quietly as he looked over to Aang.

"Does what ever get easier?" Aang questioned in confusion.

"Watching people die," Sokka explained as he gestured to the Warden. "Does it ever get easier to deal with people dying?"

Aang was silent for a moment before he shook his head. "No, it doesn't. You might get more used to it, but the look of death never really escapes you. It's part of the reason why I was hesitant to let you guys join our group. Death isn't pretty, and it's haunted me since my first kill. I didn't want you guys to have to go through what I've been going through."

Katara walked up and gave him a hug. "We knew what we were getting into. It might take some getting used to, but we'll be fine. Okay?" Aang looked unsure, so she kissed him on the lips. "Okay?"

After another few moments of silence, he slowly nodded. "Okay."

Sokka walked up and patted him on the back. "Come on. Let's get out of here." They all nodded and walked out as Aang looked back over his shoulder at the dead Warden, wondering how a world could be so cruel as to make family kill their own.

* * *

Several hours later, they all met up at the war room in a grave mood, seeing how much what had happened was affecting Mai. Aang normally would have let her be alone, but he knew the best way to get over a death of a loved one was to have your friends there for you. Bringing out a cup of hot chocolate for them, he set them all down and gave Mai a weak smile, knowing exactly what she was going through. Or at least pretty close to it. As he took his seat, he took a deep breath and looked up at them. "Well, normally I would go on a long speech about how well everyone did, but I think right now we just need to talk about something that's not work-related. Anybody want to say anything." Sokka raised his hand. "Go ahead, buddy."

Sokka put it down and nodded to him. "I just wanted to talk about the time Katara slipped and fell down a snow bank when we were five. She was chasing a rabbit she found in the woods and didn't see it coming, and ended up breaking her tailbone in the process." Everyone but Katara laughed as she glared at him, even Mai who barely managed to hide it behind her hand.

"You want to talk, Sokka?" she challenged. Sokka folded his arms and smirked smugly. She turned her attention to the group. "You guys heard about the story of how Sokka shot himself, right?" Everyone shook their heads as Sokka gulped. "Sokka was practicing his shooting at a range when he decided that it would be a good idea to put a gun in his pocket. _Without_ the safety on," she finished, making everyone else burst out laughing at Sokka's expense.

Sokka glared at Aang. "What are you laughing at?" he asked seriously. "Didn't the same thing happen to you?"

Aang shook his head with a smirk. "Nope. The only thing that happened to me is that I accidentally shot it and almost shot myself when it ricocheted off a wall and almost got my arm. But at least I didn't put it in my pocket with the safety off," he snickered, making everyone else laugh again, making Mai unable to hide her laugh.

Toph snorted. "Wow, Snoozles. You're just as dumb as you look," she smirked while she leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Oh yeah?" Sokka challenged as he stared her down. Her smirk didn't waver as he glared at her. "At least _I _wasn't afraid to do the air strike when we first trained. You were the only one who had to be pushed off to do it."

Toph finally got angry as her smirk turned to a frown. "I already told you, I'm an Earthbender, Snoozles. I'm not supposed to leave the ground, so of course I'm going to be hesitant."

Zuko snickered as Mai leaned into him. "_Hesitant?_ No. Hesitant is what I was to join this group. What you were was downright scared," he laughed, making everyone else laugh as Toph glared at him.

"Can't be any worse than what Suki did when she first joined us," Teo added with a chuckle as they all settled down.

"What did she do?" Sokka asked curiously, earning a glare from Suki.

Teo snickered and ignored the glare Suki was giving him. "When Suki started doing the air strike, she tripped on her feet on the way down and would have broken some bones if Aang hadn't caught her." Everyone laughed as Suki continued to glare at him. "And if that wasn't bad enough, she attempted to use the distraction as a way to kiss Aang."

Sokka stopped laughing and looked at Suki with jealousy in his eyes. "Really? That's hilarious," he choked out while grinding his teeth.

"Oh relax Sokka," she kissed his cheek reassuringly. "That was before. I'm with you now. I don't have feelings for him anymore."

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" Suki nodded, feeling nervous as he stood up and walked over to her. He stopped in front of her and leaned in close. "Are you sure about that?" he whispered huskily into her ear, making her shiver and blush heavily. Sokka fumed as Aang smirked and went back to his seat and put Katara in his lap, making her smile as she enjoyed being in his arms.

Mai couldn't help but laugh loudly at the look on Suki's face. It was priceless. She couldn't place what exactly was on it, but she would have to guess somewhere between embarrassment and nervousness. "You guys are hilarious," she snickered as her laughs finally settled down. She looked around the room at the looks on their faces. Suki was still frozen in shock, Sokka was grumbling to himself, Katara and Aang were on cloud nine being with each other, Teo and Toph were smirking at their friends, and Ty Lee was still giggling softly at their conversation.

"What are you laughing at, Ty?" Mai smirked as she watched her. "At least Suki didn't sleep with every guy in her class other than Zuko."

Ty Lee just shrugged as her giggles continued. "So? I don't see anything wrong with wanting some fun. And it's not like any of the guys there were complaining."

Mai just smiled at her friend and looked at them all gratefully. "Thank you guys. I really needed to laugh for a little while," she admitted, making them all smile at her.

"Of course Mai. We'll always be here for you. We're a team. Right guys?" Aang asked them all. They nodded in response.

"Just like I'll always be here for you, My Love," Zuko murmured as he kissed her head. Mai smiled again and snuggled into his warmth when Aang's phone buzzed. Curious, he took it out and opened it up for Katara and him to see.

"Who is it?" Sokka asked curiously as he tried to see who it was.

Aang put the phone away and looked at them all. "It's an informant I hired to spy on one of the warehouses for us. I wanted to have someone keep an eye on things in case things got worse for those who are being kidnapped, and it looks like it has. We'll have to liberate the warehouses by the end of the week, or the tests will only be worse."

"How much worse?" Ty Lee wondered.

"I don't know," Aang admitted as he looked at her. "But we can't let this go on any longer. We'll take two days to prepare and then we're busting them out," he decided.

"What about me?" Ty Lee wondered. "I want to help too. I don't like being bored here when you're all out on a mission. It's no fun when Suki and Teo are just fighting all the time," she groaned, making everyone laugh.

Aang thought about it for a moment before he looked to Toph. "Toph, how much do you have her trained right now? I know I teach her some lessons and then you teach her a few more at night. Where's she at right now?"

Toph thought it over as she held hands with Teo. "She's pretty close to being trained with the blades. One more lesson and she would be ready."

"Okay, then you need to give her that lesson tonight and I'll teach her how to use the blade so she can join us on the mission. Sound good?" he asked them both. They both nodded. "Good." He looked at the time and saw that it was nine o'clock. "I think we should all head to bed. We've got a long couple days ahead of us, and we're going to need our sleep."

Zuko spoke up. "I think that we should spend some time making sure our gear is in good shape for tomorrow."

"Right," he agreed. "We'll do that and then go to bed. Night guys!" he told them as he picked up Katara bridal style and walked away, making her laugh as he carried her to his room. They finally reached the door and he walked in until he gently put her on the bed. "Do you want me to go get your Pj's for you?" he offered.

Katara shook her head with a smile. "I'm good. As long as I'm in your arms, I'll be just fine," she assured him, making him smile as he climbed into the bed with her.

"I love you Katara," he murmured as he wrapped her in his arms and held her close, making her smile as he dug his face into her hair.

"I love you too, Aang," she sighed happily as she snuggled into him, enjoying the warmth he gave off as they both slowly drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


	12. Chapter 12: Divide and Conquer

Chapter 12: Divide and Conquer

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

Over the next couple days, everyone was busy preparing for the assault on the warehouses. There was a lot to cover to ensure that the job would get done, but they all knew that the only way they would be able to complete their mission was if they were well-prepared. Ty Lee had been given the training she needed for the mission. She was still a few lessons short of being called a master, but time was not on their side in this situation, so she was allowed the title anyway with the exception that she would finish up the lessons after the warehouses had been taken care of. Not that she minded of course. It would just mean more time with her favorite teacher. "Okay everybody," Aang started as they all met in the war room for a meeting. "Today we're going to hit the warehouses to make sure that the people who are being kidnapped don't have to be tortured any longer." Sokka raised a hand. "Yes, Sokka?"

He put it back down. "How are we going to do this? I wouldn't imagine that we're going to all attack each warehouse together."

"Nope, that would be pretty stupid," Aang agreed with a laugh. "What we _are_ going to do is divide and conquer. There are four warehouses, so four groups of us will attack each warehouse." He paused to look over at Teo. "And you'll be joining in Toph in attacking one of them."

Teo's eyes widened in surprise. "What?!" he shrieked a little.

"You're joining Toph in attacking a warehouse," Aang repeated himself with a roll of his eyes.

"Whoa whoa, I'm your logistics guy. I'm not the field agent type," Teo argued seriously as he looked Aang in the eye.

Aang shook his head. "Teo, I know that you're scared, but I know you can do this. If I didn't think you could do this, I wouldn't have had you trained at all. You're ready."

"No I'm not!" Teo argued with intense fear in his eyes. "I don't fight, and I never get into situations where I need to fight. Now you want to just send me into the fray?"

Toph snorted and punched her boyfriend in the shoulder. "Man up, Tinkerbell! I'll be there to help you in case things go bad."

"She's right," Aang agreed as he returned his attention to Teo. "There's a reason why I've assigned you a partner. As long as you both help each other out, I'm sure you'll both be fine." Teo still looked unsure. Aang let out a sigh and looked him in the eye. "Teo, I know you're scared, but you can do this. I have no doubt in my mind that you can."

Teo looked up at him hopefully. "You really think so?"

"I know so," Aang assured him with a grin. "You're more than capable of doing this, and if things go bad, Toph will be there to help you out. You can do this. Right guys?"

"Right," they all agreed in unison. Teo took a deep breath before he nodded slowly, preparing himself for what was to come.

Aang smiled and got back to the topic at hand. "Okay, well now that that's settled, I'll tell you guys the rest of the groups and which warehouse they'll be hitting. Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee will go for the warehouse in the West. Toph and Teo will go for the one in the North,. Sokka and Suki will take out the one in the East while Katara and I take out the Southern warehouse." Sokka raised his hand again, making Aang laugh a little. "Yes, Sokka?"

He put his hand down and looked questioningly at him. "Two things: One, I thought that you already took out a warehouse in the South, and two, how are Suki and I going to destroy the warehouse? We're not benders," he wondered.

"I'm actually glad that you brought that up," Aang replied as he reached under the table and brought out a box full of small disks, making everyone try to take a closer look. "These here are specialized C4 that can only go off once your out of range from them. They have special RFID reactors on them that prevent them from going off if you're in their range to make sure that there's no… _accidents_," he explained with a frown as he thought about it. He quickly shook his head and got back to it. "I want everyone to take a few just in case they can't destroy it using bending."

"I don't need bombs, Twinkle Toes," Toph rolled her eyes and crossed her arms defiantly. "I'm perfectly capable of destroying it myself."

Aang laughed a little and shook his head. "I understand that, Toph, but I want you guys to take it anyway. Besides, it's mostly for the non benders and Zuko anyway."

Zuko looked over at him in surprise. "Why's it for me?" he asked with a tint of hurt, having his pride wounded from being told he couldn't blow up a warehouse with his bending.

"It's nothing personal," Aang assured him. "But unless the warehouse is made of wood, then you're not going to be able to burn it down." Zuko didn't want to admit it, but he had a point.

"Fine," Zuko sighed in defeat and slumped in his seat while Mai gave him a pat on the back.

Aang chuckled and passed out the discs until each person had four on them. "Good. Now that that's settled, let's get back to the teams." Everyone nodded in agreement as he pulled out his map again. "Each warehouse is heavily guarded with soldiers. The good news is now that the-" he paused to correct himself. "Now that no one's selling soldiers to Ozai anymore, every soldier we kill will help make our invasion of the Agni tower easier, so try to take out as much as you can," he advised them. "Any questions?" Suki raised her hand. "Yeah Suki?"

She put it back down. "What if we're having trouble and need some backup? Do we call you guys or what?" she asked curiously.

Aang smiled as he thought of the answer to her question. "Actually you won't really need us," he admitted as he pulled out three boxes from his pockets. Setting them down on the table, he opened them to reveal a red button in the center. "We have back up robotic soldiers at the ready in case things go bad. All you have to do is press this button which will send your signal back to the safehouse and a few platoons of soldiers will be sent to reinforce you," he explained to them all with a grin, making them all gasp in surprise except Teo who had thought of the idea.

"That's awesome," Sokka said in amazement as he looked own at the box before he looked up with a questioning glance. "If we have a back up army at the ready, why don't we just send them in and have them wreak havoc?" he wondered.

"Because if we do that, innocents could be hurt," Aang explained as he passed each of the boxes to the other teams. "These robots are supposed to be a last resort in case you're surrounded and need back up. The robots can distinguish the difference between soldiers and innocents, but if an innocent steps into the line of fire, they're going to get hurt. So unless it's an absolute emergency, do not press this button. Understood?" Everyone nodded as the leaders of their groups took the button. "Good." He looked at the clock and saw it was time to go. "Okay guys. Once we've gotten through this, then all that's left is Ozai. Then we can finally take back our city. Are you guys with me?"

"Yeah!" Sokka cheered.

"Sure," Toph shrugged with a yawn.

"You bet!" Ty Lee said cheerily.

"If I have to," Teo agreed reluctantly.

"Absolutely," Zuko grinned at Aang who grinned right back.

"Whatever," Mai shrugged as she looked at her nails.

Katara smiled and kissed his cheek. "You know I am."

He smiled back and stood up. "Alright then. You all know what you have to do. Go suit up and we'll make sure that no one has to go through this ever again. On three. One, two, three… "

"Team!" everyone cheered together as they put their hands in the circle and broke apart to go prepare. Katara stayed behind and smiled at him. "You're a great leader, you know," she smiled as she took his hand and started walking to their room.

"I hope so," he sighed as they reached his room. "I'm the one who'll be responsible if anything bad happens."

Katara looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean? Just because you're the leader doesn't mean that you're responsible if someone messes up."

Aang was silent for a moment. "Yeah, but I'm the one who got you all into this. If someone dies, their blood will be on my hands."

She stopped in her tracks and turned him to face her, scaring him a little at the angry look on her face. "Aang, we all knew what we were signing up for. If someone does die, then it won't be your fault. We all made the decision to join because we wanted to help others." She paused as her frown turned into a reassuring smile. "Besides. They had a great teacher. I'm sure everyone will be just fine." He still didn't look sure, so she kissed him as his eyes sunk closed in bliss. She laughed a little at his expression as she pulled away and smiled. "We can do this. This is what we were trained for. As long as you're leading us, we'll be just fine."

He finally smiled and kissed her before pulling away and smiling at the expression on her face. The feeling went two ways, it seemed. "If you say so. You're always right, after all," he joked, making her laugh.

"You know I am," she joked in a serious tone, making him laugh as well. "Come on. Let's go get ready." He nodded and gathered their stuff as he prayed to God that everyone would come back safe from the mission.

* * *

A few hours later, they were each in their own cars that had been designed to hide in plain sight for when they had completed their mission. Each had gone their own way and were headed towards the warehouse. Aang couldn't help but worry for his teammates. None of them had been on a mission like this before, but he knew that they had the potential to complete it. He would just have to hope they didn't do anything to get themselves hurt. Katara noticed the worried look on his face as the car drove itself to their destination. "Everything's going to be fine," she assured him with a kiss on the cheek. "They'll all come back."

Aang nodded slowly as he looked out the window. "I know, but still. I just can't help but worry that they might get themselves really hurt on accident. This mission definitely isn't going to be a walk in the park."

"I know," Katara sighed as she looked down at her lap. "But we'll get through it. Like we always do. Besides, this isn't the mission you should be worried about." Her words broke through to his core and he finally decided to stop worrying.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he finally conceded as he looked at her. "It's not going to help if I'm worried the whole time. Let's do this," he said more confidently as he took her hand and kissed it, making her smile at him as they pulled up to the warehouse. The car parked itself on the side of the street and they got out, looking around as they took in their surroundings. The warehouse was surrounded by guards, likely due to the fact that they were the last things Ozai had left of his operation. "We'll have to be more careful than usual," he warned her as they walked over to the side and hopped over the fence. She nodded and followed him as they put their hoods on and made their way to the side of the building where two guards were standing watch. Aang nodded to Katara who nodded back and launched themselves up to the roof above the guards who didn't hear a thing.

"This is so boring," the soldier on the left complained as he leaned against the wall. "Nothing ever happens." He never said another word as Katara landed on him and quickly took his life as Aang did to his co-worker.

Katara shook her head at the dead soldier. "Well now you'll never have to worry about being bored again," she thought aloud before Aang motioned for him to follow. They quickly moved the bodies into a nearby dumpster and closed the lid, ensuring no one would see the evidence. Satisfied with their work, they stepped through the door quietly and snuck around the corner until they reached a guard station where some soldiers were chatting and drinking coffee, preventing them from moving forward. "What are we going to do about them?" Katara asked Aang as he thought it over.

"That's a good question," he whispered back as he thought about it until he remembered a device Teo had made specifically for him. He took it out and aimed it at the lights, quickly turning it off on the guards.

"What the hell?" one of the guards yelled angrily. Aang nodded to Katara and they quickly walked in, making short work of the guards until none were left alive. They decided to keep the lights off in case other guards came by. With that settled, Aang led the way as they crept down the hall to the center of the room where a meeting was being held.

The leader of the warehouse was talking to the rest of his soldiers. "Alright, you maggots! Listen up, because I'm only saying this once! We're almost done with our testing and will be able to deliver our results to the boss. Once we do, then we're going to kill all of the prisoners so that there are no witnesses. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" they all saluted back.

"Good! Dismissed!" he told them as they all quickly filed out. Aang took a closer look and recognized the man as his contact. Looking around to make sure there was no one there, he walked up with Katara right behind him and greeted him with a nod.

"It's nice to see you again, Piandao," Aang told him as he walked up to him.

Piandao turned around and smiled once he saw Aang there. "It's nice to see you again, Stormborn. I'm glad that you're as prompt as you are dangerous." He noticed Katara walking up to stand next to Aang. "And who is this?" he asked curiously.

"This is my friend," she coughed into her hand with a pointed look at him from under her hood. "_Girlfriend_," he corrected himself with a small smile. "You can just call her Ocean."

"Ocean," Piandao repeated with a smile. "Well it's nice to meet you, Ocean. I've been waiting a while for Stormborn here to get a girlfriend," he told her, making Aang blush in embarrassment.

Katara looked between them in confusion. "Do you know this guy personally?" she asked with a tilted head.

Aang nodded as he looked at her. "Yeah, he was the guy who I bought credentials off of when I came here. At the time I didn't know that he was a mercenary, but he's a mercenary with honor. He only takes contracts that do good for others."

"That's right," Piandao agreed as he nodded to Aang. "Though I have to say, I'm not really a fan of pretending to be the enemy."

"Sorry, but I needed someone to be able to tell me when things got worse for the people here," Aang apologized with a sheepish smile. "You won't have to worry about it anymore. Today this place is going down."

Piandao nodded as he looked around to make sure no one was listening to them. "Good. These people really will be killed if we don't save them today."

"Have you heard anything about what these tests are for?" Aang questioned.

"I have," Piandao agreed as he looked around and leaned in. "They've been trying to figure out what makes a bender a bender and they want to use that to make their own super soldiers."

Aang's eyes widened in disbelief. "You don't mean…"

Piandao nodded solemnly. "Yes. They want to make their own Stormborns." Aang took a deep breath and shook his head.

"This is _not_ good," he mumbled as he paced across the floor, trying not to think of what could happen if Ozai succeeded. "If Ozai has soldiers that match my power…"

"Then it would mean the end of the world," Piandao agreed as he stopped Aang in his tracks with a hand on his shoulders. "The good news is that it's not possible."

Katara looked at him in surprise. "It's not?"

He shook his head with a smile before he turned back to Aang who looked somewhat relieved. "For some reason, regular people can only hold two elements at a time where Stormborns can have all four. Something to do Stormborns having a unique kind of blood that has the capacity to hold all of the elements in their system. Because of that, Ozai has to settle for soldiers who can bend only two elements."

"That still makes them a threat, though," Aang argued as he resumed his pacing. "Other benders would have a hard time fighting them like Ozai's soldiers do with me. Have they had any benders acquire those abilities yet?" he questioned seriously.

Piandao shook his head quickly. "No, not yet. They're working on it as we speak in Ozai's tower, but if we take these warehouses out quick enough, we can gather some allies and storm the building before they can achieve that."

"You're right," Aang agreed as he thought it over. "Looks like we've got work to do. Where are the prisoners being held?"

Piandao pointed over to his right down a long hallway. "At the end of that hall is where I've been keeping them. I gave them better accommodations per your instructions, but there wasn't a lot I could do without giving myself away."

Aang nodded and looked to Katara. "Are you ready?" She nodded. "Okay then." He turned back to Piandao. "Do you remember the plan?"

"Of course," Piandao assured him. "I'll get all of the soldiers out of the building on your signal and tell them that I spotted you sneaking around the East wing. Then you can escort everyone out and get them out of here. I'll leave you with the decision of how you destroy this place."

"Sounds good to me," Aang finally grinned and bowed to him. "Thank you, Piandao. You'll receive your payment once this mission is over."

Piandao patted him on the back. "This one's on the house, Stormborn. If I didn't do this, it could lead to the end of the world. I will not accept payment." He stopped as he heard footsteps coming towards them. "Go. Complete your mission. I'll get ready to do my part." Aang nodded to him and walked away quickly with Katara as Piandao turned around and distracted the soldiers coming towards them. As they crept down the hallway, Aang couldn't help but notice that this warehouse looked exactly like all of the other one's he had destroyed. _Ozai's not very creative_, he thought with a small chuckle before they finally reached the prisoners.

"Who are you?" a girl questioned suspiciously as she noticed they didn't have on soldier uniforms. "What do you want?"

"We're here to bust you guys out," Katara whispered back as she checked for any soldiers, but there were none.

"Really?" a man asked from behind her as he went up to the bars. Aang answered him by cutting the lock and opening the door for them as they poured out and quickly took care of the rest.

Once everyone was out of their cells, Aang gathered them in a large group and stood in front of them. "OKay guys, we're getting you out of here, but we need to wait on our distraction, so sit tight until then." There were a few nods and murmurs of agreement, making him satisfied as he called Piandao on his earpiece. "Piandao?"

"Yes Stormborn?" he answered after a few moments.

"It's time to start the distraction," Aang said as he looked through the crowd.

"Understood," Piandao answered. A few moments later, Piandao's voice rang over the intercom. "Soldiers! Stormborn has been spotted in the East wing. All units converge and surround the East wing." Loud footsteps could be heard as all of the soldiers in the building moved quickly to the East wing. Aang put on his sunglasses. "Brooke, show me live footage of the East wing."

"Yes, Stormborn," she replied while his lenses played footage of hundreds of soldiers moving towards the East wing.

Aang smiled in relief and looked at the crowd. "Okay people! We're getting out of here through the West wing. Try not to make a lot of noise as we go, okay?" Everyone nodded. "Great." Looking around, he noticed a small armory to his right and walked over and opened it, giving each person a weapon to use in defense. "Be on your toes in case one of the soldiers decides to come back. Everybody ready?" They all nodded again. "Okay. Follow me." They followed him and Katara as they made their way to the exit door with no soldiers in sight.

"Come on guys," Katara ushered them as Aang held open the door. "The sooner we're out of this place, the sooner that you guys are home." After what felt like forever to Aang and Katara, all of the prisoners were out and they were helping them over the fence. Aang with carrying them over one at a time, and Katara with making a ladder out of ice for them to walk on. After a little while, everyone was over the fence and headed on their way home. Everyone except for two people.

"Don't you guys want to go home?" Aang asked curiously as he addressed the two people they had spoken with earlier.

The girl shook her head. "Me and my brother don't have anyone to go back to, and we talked and…. Well…"

"We want to see if you'll allow us to join your cause," her brother spoke up for her.

Jin glared at him. "Hey, I was getting there," she huffed with her arms crossed.

Haru snorted. "Oh please. If I hadn't said anything, these guys would have been long gone by now." He turned his attention to them. "So, like I said, we want to join your cause."

Aang let out a long sigh and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "What is it with people wanting to join us so much?" he muttered to himself before he looked up at the siblings. "I can't just let anybody join our team. If I kept taking everyone who didn't have anyone to go back to, then we would have our own army."

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Katara wondered as she looked at him.

"No," he admitted with a sigh. "But still. I can't keep doing this." He paused and looked at them. "I'll tell you what. I'll give you guys a chance, but you have to convince me to do it. Tell me why you think you would make a good fit on our team and if you do well, then you can come with us."

Jin nodded as she thought it over. "Well… I'm smart, capable, a black belt in Karate and am very light on my feet. I would be good for stealth missions and if you needed someone to fit into small areas that you wouldn't be able to get in yourself, I'm your girl." Aang thought it over and nodded before he looked to Haru who cleared his throat.

"As for me, I'm an Earthbending Master and am pretty good about being quiet too. Just ask my sister," he joked as she glared at him. "If I had a dollar for every time I snuck up behind her and scared her-"

"Then you would have zero dollars," Jin cut him off. They glared at each other, but Aang stepped between them.

"Okay, okay," Aang said as he looked them each in the face. "Look, if you guys want to join us, then you'll have to put aside this sibling rivalry thing. You can't be fighting with each other out in the field, otherwise you'll probably get yourselves killed. I can see that you guys could be a good fit on our team, but I can't let you guys join us if you're going to be like this. Do you think you could try to be civil?" he questioned them.

After a few moments of silence, they sighed and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think we can do that," Jin finally said as she looked up at him from her feet. He nodded and looked them both in the eye, making Jin finally see his face from under the hood. "Wow, you're cute," she thought aloud, making Aang blush and Katara growl.

"Well thank you," Aang laughed nervously. "But I already have a girlfriend here," he told her as he leaned over and kissed Katara's cheek, making her smile as she looked up at him.

Jin looked a little disappointed, but she understood. "Okay," she sighed sadly.

Aang quickly got back to the topic at hand. "Before you guys make the decision, I need to tell you what I've told everyone else. This isn't going to be some walk in the park. What we do is very dangerous and has a pretty good chance of costing you your life. You'll never have a normal life again if you decide to join us, so take a moment to think about it."

Jin and Haru looked at each other before they shrugged and nodded. Jin turned back to look at Aang. "Yeah, we're okay with it. Our lives haven't ever been normal, so this'll be nothing new."

"Okay then. Don't say I didn't warn you," Aang told them as he looked them both in the eye. He then turned to Katara. "I guess we've got some new recruits."

"Yeah, I guess so," she laughed as she looked at him. "What's the plan now?"

"I'm going to take out this warehouse and then I'm going to go see if anyone needs backup," he said as he looked around. "Do you think you could take these guys back to the safehouse?"

Katara looked unsure as her face grew with worry. "I don't know, Aang… I don't want to leave you here alone."

He smiled and squeezed her hand. "Kat, this isn't the first warehouse that I've blown up and it won't be my last. I'll be just fine," he promised as he kissed her hand. "But we need to make sure that these guys get to safety. Please take them back to the safehouse?" he asked as politely as he could.

She still looked like she wanted to stay, but she could never resist him when he gave her those big sad eyes. "Okay…" she agreed reluctantly. "But if anything goes wrong, give me a call and I'll turn right around. Got it?" she asked as she jabbed a finger in his gut.

"Promise," he agreed with a smile before he leaned down and kissed her, making her smile happily against his lips. Jin rolled her eyes and tried not to look until they finally stopped. Once he was done chuckling at the happy look on Katara's face, he turned to Jin and Haru. "Go ahead and get out of here, guys. We'll get you all set up once the mission's completed." They nodded and followed Katara as she walked away.

"Be careful, Sweetie!" she called over her shoulder as she reluctantly walked away.

"I will!" he promised before turning his attention back to the warehouse. Taking a deep breath, he called in to Piandao. "Piandao? Are you still there?"

"I'm here," Piandao responded quickly. "Is everyone out yet?"

Aang nodded and then remembered that he couldn't see it. "Yeah, everyone's out now. They're all heading home. Get out of there as quickly as possible and let me know when you're done. This warehouse is about to be wiped off the face of the Earth."

"Understood," Piandao replied. "Making my way out now." His line went dead and Aang decided to check up on the others, starting with Zuko.

"Hotman," he radioed in to him. "How's it going for you guys?"

There was some static before Zuko finally responded. "It's going pretty well. We've got the prisoners out and are waiting for the last few to make it over the fence. Once that's done, we're going to rig the place with the C4s and watch from a distance." He paused in disgust. "Will you stop calling me Hotman?

"Good. Let me know when everything's done. And let the others know that we've got some new recruits," he told him, taking Zuko by surprise. "And no, I won't stop calling you that. It's now your codename."

Zuko would have complained more, but he was too shocked to think about his codename."Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I wasn't planning on it, but they convinced me and now they're joining us," Aang explained as he looked around for guards, but there were none.

A random voice came over the line. "Shit, one of the guards decided to come over here. I gotta go, Stormborn. I'll call you back once everything's taken care of." The line went dead as Aang started calling Suki. After a few rings, it picked up.

"What's up, Stormborn?" she said as she stabbed a guard from behind.

"Just checking to see how you and Sword are doing," Aang explained as he looked around again. "Everything going well?"

"Yeah, all of the prisoners are out. We're setting up the C4s for the warehouse as we speak," she told him quietly. "One more and we'll get out of here and destroy the place."

"Good job," he complimented her. "Hopefully Sword hasn't been too much trouble?"

"Hey!" Sokka cried indignantly in a hush as he heard him from his earpiece.

Aang couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. "I'm only kidding, Sword. I'm sure that you're doing just fine," he assured him. "Well, as long as everything's fine, then I'll let you get back to work. Let me know when you're finished, okay?"

"Got it. We'll give you a call once we're done," Suki responded.

"Cool. Good luck guys," Aang said before he ended the line. Taking a deep breath, he finally called up Toph who picked up on the first ring.

"Sup Twinkletoes?" she asked nonchalantly with a yawn.

Aang just rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Just checking on how you guys are doing. Everything going well?"

Toph snort rang through his earpiece, making him groan as it damaged his ear drum. "We're done already. There weren't many prisoners at our warehouse and I just sank the whole building underground. No one will ever be using it again."

"Cool," Aang grinned as he imagined what that had looked like. "Go ahead and go back to the safehouse. We'll let you know when everyone else is done."

"Yes sir," he could almost see the sarcastic salute Toph was giving him. "We'll go back right away." She hung up and left Aang there shaking his head at his friend. It never failed to amaze him what a different variety of friends he had. Taking a deep breath, he returned his attention to the warehouse as his earpiece started buzzing. "Hello?"

"It's me, Piandao," Piandao said over the line. "I just got out of there and you've got the all clear to destroy that warehouse."

Aang grinned and cracked his neck with his knuckles. "Sounds good. If you're serious about wanting to help us, go to the old gas station in town and wait for me there. You can stay with us while we work on a plan to take back our city."

"Sounds good, Stormborn. I'll meet you there. Good luck," he told him before he ended the call, allowing Aang to finally focus on the rest of his mission. He looked around and tried to think of the best way to take care of this warehouse. One option was to do what Toph did and just force it all underground, but he wasn't one to repeat other people's moves. There was no lake around, otherwise he would probably just flood it and sink it to the bottom of a lake. An idea formed in his mind as he felt a breeze tug at his hood, and he knew exactly what he was going to do. Making sure to leave plenty of space between him and the warehouse, he started moving his arms in circular motions until a cyclone of air started to build up slowly. The more he spun it, the more air it collected until it was a full-fledged tornado, ready to be unleashed on the unsuspecting warehouse. Giving it one last layer of air, he swung it around and let it go in the direction of the warehouse, not without setting it on fire for a little extra flare. Within a few minutes, the flaming tornado had taken out half of the building, occasionally sending burning bits of brick flying his way which he would simply dodge as he watched the warehouse crumble until there was nothing left except a few guards who had somehow managed to avoid their deaths.

One guard held a blueprint in his hands as they ran. "We need to get out of here! If Stormborn gets his hands on these, it's all over for Ozai!" Aang smirked as he heard these words and launched himself into the air, not coming down until he landed right in front of them with his blade out.

"Thanks. I wasn't even going to chase you guys until you told me that," he laughed as fear grew on their faces. "I'll tell you what. You give me the blueprints and you can walk away and start a new life in another city and never come here again. Deal?"

The guards looked at each other when the leader of them spoke up. "No! You'll be getting these over our dead bodies!" he shouted defiantly, making the other soldiers who were wise enough to accept Aang's offer run away. "Cowards!" he yelled at them before they were out of sight. He turned his attention back to Aang. "Fine. I guess I'll just have to handle you myself."

Aang shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you." The guard took out his gun and attempted to shoot him, but Aang just stopped the bullet in mid air and let it fall to the ground, making the soldier gulp in fear.

"Um… any chance I can take that deal now?" he asked nervously, already knowing the answer but trying anyway.

Aang shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be able to trust that you wouldn't run back to Ozai and tell him that I'm coming for him. That's something I can't risk, I'm afraid," he told him with an apologetic look. The guard tried to shoot him again, but Aang took the bullet and returned it to its sender, killing him instantly as he fell back to the ground. Aang sighed and walked over to grab the blueprint, smiling a little as he saw that it was a schematic of Ozai's defenses for his tower. "Perfect. This'll come in handy," he thought aloud as he put it into his pocket before he turned and walked away. His earpiece buzzed and he answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey it's-" Zuko paused in disgust. "_Hotman_. The warehouse is destroyed and we're heading back to the safehouse."

Aang chuckled at Zuko's disgust. "Good. I'll meet you there soon. Oh, and if you see a man in enemy armor waiting by the entrance, he's a friend. Let him in and I'll explain later."

"Okay, will do. See you soon, Stormborn." The line went dead as Aang took out his wings and started flying through the air towards the rooftop entrance. His earpiece buzzed again and he decided to answer it. "Hello?"

"Stormborn," Suki said as there was some gunfire in the background. "We got caught trying to plant a C4 in the last spot and now have a lot of people gunning for us. Could use some back up if you don't mind."

"Alright. I'll be there soon. Hold on until I get there," he told her quickly as he changed directions and started flying to the East. After a few minutes, he arrived at the warehouse and put his sunglasses on. "Brooke, show me where Sokka and Suki are."

"Yes sir," she responded before scanning through the building. "They are being held up in the center of the building."

"Thank you, Brooke. Let's go get them," he said with a grin as he took them off and flew down to the skylight at the center of the building. Aang spotted who appeared to be the leader of the group and jumped down on him, quickly taking his life and moving on to the next. The soldiers tried shooting him, but he was too quick and they eventually gave up and pulled out their swords. "Silver, Sword! Want to help now?" Aang yelled to them as he stabbed two soldiers and kicked another one into a wall. Sokka and Suki finally left their cover and joined the fight. The three of them together made short work of the soldiers who were left until there was one man left. He foolishly attempted to attack Aang who stabbed him in the heart without looking at him and fell to the ground as dead as his fellow mercenaries.

"Well _that_ was fun," Sokka muttered sarcastically as he sheathed his sword.

"You can say that again," Suki agreed equally as sarcastically as she put her fan away. She turned to Aang. "Thanks for the save. It was getting a little too crazy there for a minute."

Aang laughed a little. "No problem. How did they catch you, anyway?"

Suki smirked and looked over at Sokka who blushed in embarrassment. "Mr. Smooth over here decided it would be a good idea to plant a bomb in the center, but somehow managed to trip himself and alerted the nearby guards. Then we got into this whole mess."

Aang couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips before he grinned at Sokka. "It's okay, Sokka. I actually did that on my first mission," he admitted with a chuckle.

"Really?" Sokka asked in disbelief. Aang nodded. "Well that makes me feel a little better."

"Come on. Let's just finish this and get back to the safehouse," Aang told them. They nodded and followed him to the center of the room as Sokka handed him a C4 which he placed in the center of the wall. "Okay, let's get out of here. Everyone else is done so they're waiting for us to get back."

"Then we can get some food!" Sokka said excitedly, earning a roll of Suki's eyes from his statement.

Aang just laughed and led the way out of the warehouse, making sure to look for any extra soldiers in case Sokka or Suki missed a few. Nothing happened until right as they were about to walk out the front door, a group of soldiers came from each side, blocking the entrance.

"Where do you think you're going?" one in the front asked while taking out his sword. "If it wasn't bad enough that you've been making our lives harder, you took out the Warden. None of you are leaving here alive."

Aang looked at him dead in the eyes. "The same goes for you," he responded simply as he showed off his blade with Suki and Sokka showing theirs off as well. The soldiers surged forward with their arms raised, ready to cut them down, but they weren't prepared for Aang. The first one attempted to stab him, but he just grabbed the hilt of the sword and turned it around on him, zapping the guard with his own blade and chucking the sword at another who was sent back into a wall with the sword lodged in his heart. Sokka took the initiative and stabbed two guards running towards him before cutting another in half with his sword. Suki was holding her own as she stabbed and hit her way through the soldiers, absorbing every shot of electricity she received in her fan and sending it back to where it came from. More guards poured in as Aang finished off the last one, making Sokka groan in annoyance.

"How many of these guys are there?" he whined before he activated the fire ability on his sword and shot some flames at them, frying a few of them to a crisp. Aang didn't answer as he was too busy killing a few soldiers with a lightning bolt to answer. After a few minutes, there were still too many, and Aang knew he had to take it up a notch. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated some lightning into his blade and slammed it into the ground sending a shockwave that finally fried the rest of the guards, leaving the three panting heavily as they struggled to regain their breath.

"It's over," Aang finally said after he managed to get enough oxygen into his system. Looking around he noticed the damage he had done and saw the supports starting to shift. "We gotta get out of here! Now!" he yelled to them as he took off running for the door. They were right behind him as they finally managed to run out of the building just as the section of the building they had been in collapsed triggering one of the explosives. "That's not good," he muttered to himself before turning to them. "Come on! We need to get out of here before the other ones set off!" As he spoke another one on the opposite side detonated, making bits of the building come flying down. They took off in a run and made their way to the nearby street and watched as explosions rang throughout the city until nothing but ash remained of what was once the warehouse.

"It's a good thing we got out of there when we did," Suki laughed breathlessly as she stared in amazement at the wreckage in front of her. "Do you want to ride back with us?" she asked Aang as she turned to him.

He shook his head. "I'm good, thanks. I'm not really fond of tight spaces anyway, but I'll meet you guys at the safehouse." They nodded and started walking back to the car when Suki stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Thanks for the save. I honestly thought we were going to die," she admitted reluctantly, not wanting to think about it.

"It's no problem," he assured her as he got his wings out. "I'll see you guys there!" he yelled before he took off into the night. Within a few minutes, he made his way over to the rooftop entrance and made his way down to the living room where everyone but Sokka and Suki was waiting for him.

"Where's Sokka and Suki?" Katara asked as she walked up and took his hand. He allowed her to pull him over to the couch where he sat roughly on it, feeling exhausted from the fight he had just been in.

"They're coming. They unfortunately don't have the ability to fly, so it takes longer for them to get here," he assured her, making her sigh in relief.

"That's good," she smiled as she kissed his cheek. "I was really worried about you."

He smiled and kissed her on the lips. "I'm fine. Just had some complications at the warehouse Sokka and Suki took care of. On the bright side, I've got some good news," he said as he pulled out the blueprints he had acquired. Laying it out on the table, everyone crowded around him to take a look. "These are the blueprints to Ozai's tower. It's going to give us everything we need to know to break in." He scanned it slowly as he took note of all the security features on it. "Wow, there aren't too many traps on here," he thought aloud as he finished looking at it. "It looks like all of the vents have an electric trap for anyone who tries to go in them, but if we can get someone inside to disable it, we can sneak in and go right for Ozai's office which is right here," he pointed to a marking that read "Boss' office".

Zuko looked at him seriously. "So what's the plan? And who's this guy?" he asked as he gestured to Piandao who was looking over his shoulder at the blueprints.

"He's an old friend of mine," Aang explained as he resumed looking at the blueprints. "He wants to help us take your father down."

Zuko nodded and looked to Piandao. "So, are you a soldier or something?"

Piandao nodded. "Yes. I am a master swordsman, but not a lot of people want to learn the art of the sword anymore, so I had to become a mercenary. But I only take contracts that do good for people. I won't do anything evil."

"Okay," Zuko shrugged simply before returning his attention to Aang. "So what are you thinking?"

Aang thought it over some more before an idea came to mind. "Well, we're going to need someone to sneak in and turn off the tower's defenses, so we'll need someone who Ozai doesn't suspect to go in and disable them. Once that's done, I would like if we had a distraction to keep the soldiers occupied while we go in and take care of Ozai. Then we can go help finish the soldiers off and start returning this city to how it should be." He turned to Piandao. "I don't suppose you have an army we could use?" he joked lightly.

Piandao thought about it for a moment before an idea came to mind. "Actually, we just might be able to get one," he thought aloud, taking Aang by surprise. "I've got a few buddies who used to be mercenaries themselves before they started their own bending academy together. Let me go make a call." He walked out of the room for a few minutes and came back in with a smile on his face. "Okay. I've convinced my friends to join us. We'll do a direct assault on the front and distract the soldiers while you go after Ozai."

"Great," Aang sighed in relief. "That should help a lot. But who are we going to get to go in and turn off the security features?" he wondered aloud.

An idea popped into Zuko's mind as he remembered something. "Uncle Iroh…"


	13. Chapter 13: Day of Redemption

Chapter 13: Day of Redemption

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

Sweat poured down Aang's face as he practiced his strikes on a dummy. It was the day he had been waiting for a long time. The day that the city would finally be rid of Ozai's influence, and could then heal and go back to how it was before. Though he didn't truly know what the city had been like before, as he hadn't been around before Ozai started making moves. He hoped that the city would bounce back and not let another tyrant 'rule' them. But even if another rose to take Ozai's place, then Aang would be there to cut them down. The city and its people had suffered too long, and he wouldn't allow it to go on any longer. The only problem he had with the mission was that he was going after Zuko's father. Over the time Zuko and Mai had joined them, Zuko had quickly became Aang's best friend, though whether Zuko reciprocated that feeling, he did not know. At any rate, he was still reluctant to take his father's life because of that. Zuko didn't seem to mind, however. If anything, he appeared to be all for it. He understood that his father would only cause more damage, and likely because he still wanted revenge for his scar. Aang wasn't one to condone wanting revenge, but he understood the feeling. Though Aang hadn't known it until he killed Azula, Ozai was the one who had ordered the attack on him and his family and was the reason that all of this had happened. Ozai's reach extended farther then he had imagined, and it only encouraged him more to finish what he started.

"Aang?"

He turned around quickly after making a hard blow to the dummy that sent it back into the wall and saw it was Katara. "Oh. Hey Kat," he sighed in relief, still a little jittery from his thoughts.

She walked up to him with a concerned look on her face. "Is everything okay? You sort of… kicked the crap out of that dummy," she told him as she gestured to the almost destroyed dummy.

"Um… yeah," he laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. I was just thinking of some things and I wasn't really paying attention to how hard I was striking."

Katara look of concern didn't go away. "What were you thinking about? Is everything alright?" she asked as she took his hand in hers.

He gave her a weak smile, still trying to catch his breath. "I'm fine," he assured her. "Just getting myself ready for the fight. I feel bad for the dummy, though," he joked, making her laugh a little.

"Okay… if you say so," she shrugged before tugging him. "Come on. You should get some rest and something to eat. We've got a big day ahead of us."

"Yeah, I guess we do," he agreed before allowing her to pull him out of the training room and to the elevator. "How's everyone doing so far?" he asked curiously as he punched in the code and sent them down.

She took a moment to think about it. "Well, we're all a little nervous, but we know that we can do this. I don't know why we're nervous though. With all of us working together, no one can beat us."

"It's pre-battle jitters," Aang explained as he looked at her. "Even if you have complete confidence in yourself and your team, there's always going to be that feeling where you can't help but worry. It's completely normal," he assured her.

"I wish it wasn't," she sighed as she looked at their intertwined fingers. "I don't like it."

Aang couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. "No one likes it. Just like no one likes going to war. No one sane, at least," he amended.

Katara giggled a little. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"What's important is that we don't let it get to us," he continued as he looked her in the eyes. "The best warriors know that they have fear, but the difference between them and a coward is that they face their fear and do what they need to anyway. A real warrior accepts that they're scared, but doesn't let it overtake them." He squeezed her hand. "And I know that you're a real warrior, so you have nothing to worry about."

She smiled warmly and kissed him. "Thanks, Aang. That means a lot to me." Pausing for a second, she couldn't help but let some of the worry consume her. "Aang… what if one of us doesn't make it back?"

Aang squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Kat, we can do this. We'll make it back alive. I've got your back like you've got mine, right?"

Another moment of silence passed before a small smile crept on her face. "Right," she agreed with a sigh. "As long as we stick together, we'll be fine."

"Exactly," Aang grinned and kissed her cheek. "We've got this. I love you, Kat."

"I love you too," she replied before kissing him again, reveling in the sweet taste of his lips. After a few moments, the elevator door opened and they were greeted by an unwelcome sight.

"Will you two stop?" Sokka whined with his arms crossed. "I already have to see you guys hug and stuff. I don't need to see my little sister making out with my best friend."

They pulled apart quickly and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry Sokka," Aang apologized before taking Katara's hand and walking with Sokka to the lunch room where everyone was waiting. Taking the only two open seats, Katara and Aang quickly sat down while Sokka walked back to his girlfriend.

"So," Suki started as she looked at Ty Lee and Haru who were shamelessly flirting with each other. "Are you guys dating or what?"

Both blushed and looked at each other and shrugged. "I'm down for it if you are," Haru told her with a smile.

Ty Lee smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Sounds good to me, cutie." Haru smiled and moved a little closer to put his arm around her shoulders with her resting her head on his chest.

Katara couldn't help but laugh a little. It didn't take very long for Ty Lee to get a boyfriend, it seemed. Looking over to her right, she saw her boyfriend stand up to address everyone. "How's it going everyone? You guys ever had airline food?" he fake joked, earning some boos and a couple pity laughs. He just laughed in return. "Sorry about that. Just thought I'd warm up with a bad joke." He quickly became serious again. "So, you all know what day it is, right?" Everyone nodded in response. "Good. I want to hear from what you guys think about it. Are you scared? Excited? Get it all out now. If I know anything about going on a mission like this, it's not good to let your feelings be bottled up, so get it all out now."

There was silence for a few moments before Suki finally spoke up. "I have to admit, I"m a little nervous," she sighed as she looked down at her food.

"That's okay," Aang assured her as he looked her in the eyes. "Fear is completely natural in a situation like this."

"But I'm not supposed to be afraid of anything," Suki argued with a downcast look on her face. "I have to be fearless to be able to do this."

Aang looked at her in disbelief. "Suki, you don't need to be fearless to do this. Fear comes with the territory."

"But you're not scared to do this," Suki responded with a disbelieving roll of her eyes. "You're not scared of anything."

"Not scared of anything?" Aang repeated incredulously. "Believe me, Suki. I'm scared of a lot of things," he told her, making her look up at him in surprise. "I'm scared that if I don't make it out of this mission alive, that my people will be extinct. I'm worried that my friends, my _family_, could not make it back. And most of all… I'm scared of failing," he sighed in resignation while Katara rubbed his back reassuringly. Everyone was silent, hanging onto his every word before he looked back up to them. "Everyone's scared of something, Suki. As long as you're human, even a very powerful human, you have fear in you. Anyone who says otherwise just doesn't want to admit that they're scared." He took a deep breath and swept his gaze over the group. "Even the most powerful leaders of the world have fear. Fear for their families, fear for their rule, and fear for themselves. What matters is what we choose to do with the fear we have. We can either let it take over us and run away, or we can face it and make a difference. Only you can choose what you do with it."

Teo scoffed. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Most Powerful Bender on Earth."

Aang looked at him seriously and looked to Toph. "Toph, remember what I trained you to do in case I lose it?" Toph nodded reluctantly. "Do it."

"Okay," Toph replied with a shaky breath. Taking out her meteorite, she expanded it until it was big enough for her to trap him in a shell that he couldn't get out of.

"Now I'm as defenseless as anyone else," Aang said as he demonstrated how he couldn't move before turning to Sokka. "Attack me," he ordered.

Sokka's eyes widened in surprise, but he knew better than to defy him at this point. Quickly getting up, he aimed a blow at Aang who dodged and rolled himself to trip Sokka who landed on the ground with a thud. "Ow," Sokka muttered as he rubbed his face.

Aang took the meteorite off and handed it to Toph who put it back on her wrist. "See? Even with me defenseless, instead of letting the fear take me over, I made the most of it and still managed to defeat my opponent."

"But Sokka doesn't count," Toph joked, making everyone but Sokka laugh when a thought came to mind. "If you can just bend it, then how is that supposed to restrain you?"

"It's not going to restrain me for long," he agreed as he looked at her. "It's just supposed to hold me long enough so you can knock me out or kill me if needed."

Katara gulped and looked at Toph sadly as she thought about it. "Please don't kill him."

Toph snorted and laid back in her chair with her hands behind her head. "Don't worry, Sugar Queen. Wouldn't dream of it." Katara sighed in relief and turned her attention back to Aang who was resuming his point.

"Anyway," he continued as he looked at the group. "As I showed you, I couldn't use my powers and I still fought back despite having the fear of getting hurt. If I can do this, I know that you guys can."

"You really think so?" Sokka asked unsurely.

Aang grinned and nodded to him. "I know so. You all have it in you to do this, and we'll all be there to help each other. We're a family, remember?" They all smiled and nodded. "Good."

"What about my brother and I?" Jin asked as she looked at him. "What are we going to do?"

"You guys just started here about a week ago. Unfortunately you guys aren't quite ready for field work, but Teo will be staying back here to help us with logistics, so you can help him if you want," he offered.

Teo noticeably let out a sigh of relief as he heard he wouldn't be on the mission, making everyone laugh as he blushed in embarrassment. "Okay," Jin sighed in defeat before she looked over at Zuko. Aang had noticed that she had a bit of a crush on Zuko as well as him, and she made it pretty obvious. He just hoped she wouldn't try to do anything to come between him and Katara or Mai and Zuko.

Quickly snapping out of his thoughts, he shook his head and turned back to the group. "Anything else you want to get off your chests before we do this?" No one said anything. "Okay. Remember: If you guys want to talk, my door is always open." Katara whispered in his ear, making his eyes widen as a deep blush covered his face. "Okay, maybe not _always_ open," he amended, making everyone laugh at their embarrassment. "Go on and get ready. We head out for Ozai's tower in six hours. Get your gear and make sure that you're confident with your skills. I'll let everyone in on the rest of the plan before we leave."

"Yes sir," Toph sarcastically saluted him, making everyone laugh as they walked out to the elevator. Aang and Katara stayed behind for a moment. Katara could feel the waves of nervousness rolling off of her boyfriend.

"Is everything alright?" she asked in concern as she pulled him down to his seat.

He nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, I just can't help but feel like something's going to go wrong. Something almost always goes wrong on missions like this."

Katara kissed him on the cheek. "It's going to be okay, Aang. As long as we have each other's backs, we'll make it out of it. Okay?" He still didn't look sure, so she gave him a long kiss, making him melt on the spot. After a couple minutes, she pulled away and smiled at the happy look on his face. "Okay?" she repeated herself softly.

"Okay," he agreed. Standing up, he offered his hand to her. "Come on. We should go get ready." She took it with a soft smile and walked over the elevator and made their way to their armor, silently preparing themselves for what their future held.

* * *

Several hours later, it was finally time for the mission. Everyone was nervous as they put on their armor, but they had confidence that they could do it if they worked together. It was a new day for the city, a day in which no one would be tortured by Ozai's influence any longer. Everyone lined up at the stealth jet and waited for Aang to speak. "Okay," he started as he looked them all in the eye. "Here's the plan. Zuko has gotten in contact with his uncle who is going to go inside and disable the security for the vents." Sokka raised his hand. "Yeah, Sokka?"

Sokka put his hand back down. "Why doesn't he just disable _all_ of the security protocols? Wouldn't that make it easier?"

"It would," Aang agreed. "But if we turn them all off, then an alarm will go off and someone will have to go check in on it which will lead to Ozai knowing that we're after him. We can turn them all off once Ozai's been dealt with, but for now we need to make sure that no one knows what we're planning." Sokka nodded and remained silent. "Anyway, while Iroh does that, Piandao and his friends will distract the soldiers guarding the place." He turned to Piandao. "How many students are your friends bringing with them?" he wondered.

"All of them," Piandao replied as he pulled out a picture that had the three masters with their students, making Katara gasp.

"Pakku?" she whispered in complete surprise.

Piandao looked at her curiously. "Do you know Pakku?"

Katara nodded slowly. "Yeah, he's my step-grandfather. He sort of disappeared after my grandmother died. I haven't heard from him in years."

"You'll have your chance to talk to him later," Aang promised as he re-routed the conversation where it needed to be. "While the soldiers are distracted, each team of people will go into a vent on each side of the building on my mark." He turned to look at Zuko and Mai. "You guys are going to join me and Katara in fighting." They nodded and he turned to Sokka and Suki. "You guys will do your best to stir up trouble around the place to keep the soldiers who stay inside distracted. We don't want anymore of them coming in to help Ozai when we fight him." They nodded and he finally turned his attention to Toph and Ty Lee. "You two will be in charge of destroying stuff. Ty Lee, I want you to use your pressure point technique to disable the soldiers and have them tell you where the rest of the prisoners are being kept. Then you and Toph will get them out of there and then come back to destroy what you can. No equipment should be left working by the time it's over. Sound good?"

Toph grinned and cracked her knuckles. "Sounds perfect, Twinkle Toes."

Aang grinned and looked at them all in the face. "We can do this. I know _you_ can do this. Remember: Watch each other's backs and don't hesitate. The soldiers certainly won't. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Sokka cheered, earning cheers from everyone else.

"On three." They all put their hands together. "One, two, three, team!" they all yelled together before getting into the stealth jet. Quickly getting settled in, Aang started up the jet and opened up the hanger doors above them. "Hold on tight!" he yelled over the noise before taking off and out, making his way over towards Ozai tower. He looked in disgust as he saw the familiar face of his enemy plastered on the top of the tower.

"Disgusts you too, huh?' Zuko asked as he and Mai moved up behind them. Aang nodded solemnly. "The first thing I'm going to do once we're done is rip that thing down."

"I'd be more than happy to help you with that," Aang agreed as he activated the camouflage and flew over to a rooftop North of the building and hovered over it. "Alright, Toph and Ty Lee! This one's yours!" They nodded and jumped out quickly and landed on their feet before waving to them as they moved onto the next. Aang went to the East rooftop and dropped off Sokka and Suki. He then went to the West rooftop and dropped off Zuko and Mai. "We'll see you soon!" Aang promised before going over to the South rooftop and landed the jet silently. Letting out a sigh of relief, he and Katara climbed out of the jet and looked over to at the control center through their goggles, seeing Iroh who was talking with the guard there. "Good luck, Iroh," Aang said over his earpiece.

* * *

Iroh looked around as he made his way towards the security room. The tower had been updated since the last time he had been there, but fortunately for him, most of the rooms were the same as they used to be, and he easily found the security control room. One soldier standing guard greeted him pleasantly. "General Iroh. It's good to see you again."

He had no idea who this person was, as he couldn't see his face behind a mask, but he pretended to recognize him all the same. "And it's nice to see you too. How have you been?"

"Oh you know," The soldier started with a smile underneath his mask. "Same old same old. I swear, the boss only ever puts me at this door. I guess he trusts me to watch over it."

"I suppose so," Iroh agreed with a fake smile. He felt bad about what he was about to do, but he knew there was no choice. Looking around quickly, he leaned into him with a cup in his hand. "Would you mind doing me a favor?" he whispered.

"Of course, sir!" he responded enthusiastically, making Iroh feel worse and worse with every word.

"I have this tea that I've been trying out, but no one has the time to try it out, it seems!" he fake complained. "I just want someone to tell me if I should keep it or try something else."

The soldier took the cup from him. "I can help you with that, sir."

Iroh smiled as he watched him drink it. "Thank you, my boy. You are very kind." The soldier finally drank the rest of it and smacked his lips. "So… what do you think?" he asked curiously.

He thought about it more. "Well… it could use some… more…" he yawned loudly. "It could… use… some more… sugar…" he yawned again before promptly passing out in Iroh's arms. Iroh quickly took the body and walked into the room, ensuring no cameras or soldiers would be able to see him.

"I am sorry," Iroh apologized as he quickly tied up the soldier and set him in a corner. With that done, he shut the door and locked it, ensuring no one else would be able to come in without his say-so. Satisfied with his work, he made his way over to the security panel and stroked his beard in thought as he looked over the thousands of buttons. "Which one is it?" he mused before he saw one that read: _Vent Security_. "Aha!" Iroh said gleefully before pressing the button and looked at the main monitor as it turned to "off". "Good luck, Iroh," Aang said over the earpiece.

Iroh pressed the button on his earpiece. "It is done, Stormborn. Vent security is down."

"Great. Thank you again for your help, Iroh."

"It's my pleasure, young man," Iroh replied kindly.

"You can go home now if you want. There's about to be a big fight."

Iroh shook his head. "No, I will help the other masters fight. There are a lot of soldiers here. You will need all the help you can get."

Aang was silent for a moment. "Okay," he agreed reluctantly over the line. "But please be careful. Zuko already lost his sister and his mother. He doesn't need to lose his uncle too."

"I'll be careful," Iroh promised with a hearty chuckle. "You should be more worried about yourself. A word of advice for dealing with my brother. He is headstrong and proud. Use that to your advantage."

"I will. Thank you, Iroh. Good luck," Aang replied before the line went dead.

Iroh smiled a little. "Good luck, Stormborn."

* * *

Aang got off the earpiece and looked at Katara. "Security's down." She nodded and got herself ready while he radioed in to everyone else. "Vents are down. Go in whenever you're ready."

He heard Toph already zipping over to it. "Already on it, Twinkles!" she yelled over the wind.

"On it," Zuko replied before a loud _thunk!_ could be heard.

"We're moving now," Suki finally responded before taking her shot as well.

"Good luck, everyone," Aang told them over the earpiece before he hit a button and ended it. He looked to Katara with a smile. "Are you ready, Kat?"

She nodded confidently with a smile back at him. "I'm ready." Aang prepared to shoot his launcher, but Katara pulled him into a quick kiss. "Just in case something happens," she explained as she noticed his confused look. He nodded slowly and they both zoomed over to the vent, Aang quickly kicking it down and crawling with Katara right behind him. Aang followed the blue prints and led the way towards Ozai's office. As he led the way, he couldn't help but wonder how everyone else was doing.

* * *

Sokka and Suki kicked open the vent and jumped down onto the floor, taking a few soldiers by surprise as they looked at the hooded figures. "Who the hell are you?" the leader asked menacingly as he pulled out his sword. Suki looked to Sokka who nodded and looked back at the soldiers. Without another word, they ran on opposite sides of the soldiers and cut down the first two until there was only the leader left. "You think that you can kill me?" he growled as he got into a defensive stance and faced them. A blade appeared from his chest as he quickly fell to the ground dead.

"No, but I can," Toph taunted as she wiped the blood off her blade.

"We had that covered, Bandit," Sokka sighed in annoyance as he huffed angrily.

Toph smirked and shrugged. "Well you should have been quicker. Have fun you two!" she called over her shoulder as she and Ty Lee ran towards the elevator and made their way to the prisoners in the basement. Suki rolled her eyes and looked around. "We're on the central floor," she mused aloud before she turned to Sokka. "What do you think we should do to get these soldiers distracted?"

Sokka thought about it for a moment before a loud rumble could be heard from outside. They quickly walked over to the front and were amazed at the sight below them. "Woah," Sokka breathed as he watched as four old men, including Piandao, stood on a raised platform as their hundreds of students cheered loudly. "What are they doing?"

* * *

Piandao looked to each of his friends. "Are you ready for this?" he asked them with a grin.

Pakku nodded with a smile on his face. "Certainly. It's been a long time since I've had fun like this."

"You know I am!" Bumi cackled with a twitch of his eye as he looked ahead at soldiers massing at the front of the tower.

Jeong Jeong smiled a little. "This will be a battle for the ages. We are ready," he told Piandao, making him smile as he returned his attention to the soldiers ahead of them before he called out to them.

"Soldiers! We need not fight!" he yelled loud enough for them to hear. "Stand down now and no one will have to suffer."

The leader of the soldiers snorted. "Over our dead bodies!" he yelled back and took out his sword, prompting the others to follow.

Piandao sighed and shook his head at him. "As you wish!" he yelled in return before taking his sword out and pointing it at them. "Leave none alive!" he roared over the cheers of the students who surged forward. The soldiers and students clashed, amplifying the sounds of war throughout the city as it came to life.

* * *

Sokka shook his head in disbelief as he witnessed the spectacle that was going on below them. "Wow. When Aang asked for an army, I didn't think Piandao would _actually_ bring an army," he said in amazement.

"Yeah," Suki agreed with a laugh before she turned back to him. "We need to focus. Most of the soldiers are distracted, but there's still going to be a few who stay behind. What should we do?"

He thought about it for a few moments before an idea popped into his mind. "If we can get the rest of them into a room together, we can take them all out at once."

Suki thought about it for a moment and nodded slowly. "Okay, that might work, but how are we going to do that?"

Sokka took out his copy of the blueprints and looked until he found the commander's office. "If we make our way here, we can get the commander to force everyone into a room and deal with it there," he thought aloud.

"That just might work," Suki smiled before turning around. "Follow me!" she yelled over her shoulder as he struggled to catch up with her. After a few minutes, they finally reached the commander's office and were surprised to find no one inside. Curious, Suki opened the door and walked in, stopping in surprise as the commander held a gun to her head.

"Where do you think you're going?" he taunted, having no idea that Sokka was sneaking up behind him.

She smirked and looked over at him. "Just waiting," she replied simply. He looked confused but was not given the chance to question her further as Sokka ripped the gun out of his hand and held his blade to the commander's throat. She turned around quickly and smirked again. "Now you're going to help us…"

* * *

Toph and Ty Lee finally reached the bottom after what had felt like forever. Toph never knew an elevator ride could feel like an eternity until that day. The doors quickly opened as they ran out and looked around. Fortunately for them, most of the guards had been dispatched to help outside with the ensuing battle that was raging outside. "Come on! We've got to get these people out of here!" Ty Lee yelled to Toph as she took the lead and ran to the end of the hallway where a few soldiers stood guard. Motioning to Toph, they split up and jumped up on the railings just below the ceilings and crept their way over to the guards who were talking.

"Did you hear about Billy?" one of them asked as they yawned.

Another nodded slowly. "Yeah… I heard the boss had him gutted for not protecting the Warden."

"That's what I heard too," the third agreed as he took a sip of his coffee. "It's a shame. He was a cool guy." Before anything else could be said, Toph and Ty Lee dropped on the other guards, taking him by surprise as he dropped his mug of coffee, watching it shatter on the floor before he quickly looked back up at the attackers. "You two stay away from me!" he yelled while taking out his sword. Ty Lee and Toph looked at each other and nodded before both charged him and dodged his swing before Ty Lee stabbed him in the back and Toph stabbed him in his heart. He fell dead at their feet as they moved on to the cages where the prisoners were being kept.

"Don't worry," Ty Lee spoke calmly as she cut open one of the locks and opened the door for them. "We're here to get you guys out of this place."

"Thank you!" one of them said gratefully as they gathered around the two.

Toph walked over and pressed a few buttons on the control panel, opening a path that led out of there. "Come on, people! We don't have all day!" she ordered as the prisoners ran out quickly with them not far behind. _I wonder how Fan Girl and Meathead are doing?_ She thought as they led the way out.

* * *

"Attention all soldiers! There has been a break-in in the East Sector of the building! Please report to the lunch room for further instructions!" a voice called over the intercom. The soldiers quickly gathered their gear and hustled their way over to the lunchroom while they patiently waited for the commander to show up.

"I wonder who broke in this time?" one of the soldiers asked another as he looked around for the commander.

"It's probably one of the students fighting outside," the other soldier simply shrugged. "Shouldn't be anything we can't handle."

The lights went out on them as they felt the fear hit them. "What's going on?!" one yelled in surprise as they attempted to find a light switch. After a few moments, no one said anything. "Hello? Is anyone still here?" he asked as the silence continued. "Shit," he muttered and took out his sword to reveal Sokka in front of him with his hood low on his face. "Stay away from me!" he shouted and pointed his sword at him.

"Okay," Sokka replied simply. The soldier became confused before he felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down to see a blade sticking out of his chest. He fell down to the ground slowly as Suki retracted her blade and turned the lights back on, looking at the fallen soldiers in disgust.

"That wasn't very nice of you to give him false hope, Sokka," Suki chided as she wiped the blood off her blade and looked at him.

He just shrugged. "What can I say? He knew he was going to die one way or another. Might as well give him a little hope before he dies."

Suki shrugged as well and returned her attention to the dead soldiers. "Well, now that that's done, what do you think we should do now?" she wondered.

"We can either go help Aang fight an insane tyrant or go join the legions of students who are fighting a thousand soldiers." They both looked at each other and nodded. "Thousand soldiers it is," Sokka said as they walked back to the elevator and made their way down. As they neared the door, they were surprised to see that the four Masters had already made good progress on the enemy. "Shall we?" he asked as he grinned at Suki.

Suki grinned right back. "Let's," she agreed before tugging their hoods lower on their faces and joining the fight.

* * *

"Why are these vents so filthy," Mai complained as they crawled through and attempted to find their way towards Ozai's office. They had some trouble navigating through the vents and were running behind. Zuko just hoped that their delay wouldn't do anything to hurt Aang or Katara.

"Because no one ever cleans vents," Zuko chuckled as he checked the blue prints again. A loud shriek could be heard from underneath them as they looked through the bent opening and saw Ty Lee being held by a scientist with a gun to her head. He let out a long sigh and kicked open the vent before dropping down on the scientist and taking his life, saving Ty Lee from an early death.

"Thanks Hotman," she sighed in relief as she looked around. "Wait, where's Bandit?" Looking around quickly, she called out, "Bandit?!" There was no response for a few moments before Toph came running into the room with ten soldiers hot on her tail.

"A little help here, please!" she yelled before she turned around and took out her blade. Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee stood next to her with their blades out as the soldiers finally stopped running.

"Stand down, now!" a soldier with a gun threatened.

Toph snorted with a smirk. "Fat chance." The soldier opened fire while the rest surged forward, but Toph just dodged the bullets and took his life before turning back to the fight while the rest of them joined in. Toph kicked one over to Zuko who slit his throat and shot some fire at another who was disoriented enough for Ty Lee to stab him in the back and move onto the next target. Mai stabbed one and threw a shuriken right between the eyes of another who was fighting Toph. "Hey! You can't steal my kills!" she complained before stabbing another in the head.

Mai rolled her eyes. "This isn't a video game, Toph!" she drawled sarcastically. "Deal with it!" she yelled as they all surrounded the last guard and backed him into a corner. The soldier looked around for anything to help him and remembered the flashbangs in his pocket. Quickly taking it out, he threw it on the ground and disoriented everyone but Toph who was used to loud noises and being blinded. Without another word, Toph sensed his movements and took his life before waiting for her friends to recover.

"Dick," Zuko muttered as he rubbed his eyes. He would have said more, but he quickly remembered where he was supposed to be. "We've got to go! Good luck you two!" he yelled over his shoulder as he made his way to his father's office. As he arrived, he was surprised to see his father there simply doing paperwork.

"Are you ready for this?" Mai asked seriously as she looked at him.

He nodded quickly. "Yeah, I am." He gave her a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied with a small smile before they returned their attention to the door. The door was made of pure metal and could only be opened by a code. Luckily for them, Teo had prepared them for such a situation and gave them what they needed to get the job done. Taking four squares out of his pocket, he put them into a rectangle and pressed a button on the top left one, cutting a hole through the door before he kicked it open and stared at the man who had to die. "Hello father…"

* * *

Aang sighed in annoyance. The blueprints were _not _helping them find the way to Ozai's office. There had been so many wrong turns, Aang wasn't even sure if they were going in the right direction anymore. "How are you doing back there, Kat?" he asked while he looked over the blueprints.

"Oh you know, just getting acquainted with your butt," she joked, making him laugh a little.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly as he put the blueprints away and started moving again. "I don't know why, but for some reason it's hard to find Ozai's office."

Katara laughed a little as he spoke. "It's probably because they don't make paths for vents. They only worry about the normal way of getting to the office."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Aang agreed with a sigh. "But still, it's kind of annoying. We could have killed Ozai by now."

"It's fine, Sweetie," she assured him with an awkward pat on his butt, making him laugh as they continued crawling. After a few minutes, they finally found what they were looking for.

"Yes!" Aang whisper cheered before he heard a voice speak.

"Hello father."

He gasped and turned around to look at Katara. "Zuko!" he whispered. She nodded and they crawled to get a better look at what was going on.

"Ah. Prince Zuko. It's nice to see you again," Ozai chuckled darkly.

"No it's not," Zuko retorted. "You probably wish I was dead."

Ozai nodded in agreement. "Yes, I do. You have caused too much trouble for me, my son. What happened to the son who was so well-behaved?"

"_That_ son was only like that because it was his only chance of survival," Zuko growled back before taking a deep breath. The Warden's words came to mind. _One of the things I've learned after twenty years in the mercenary business is that those who let things become personal usually die._ He couldn't let this be personal. Not if he wanted to make it out of there. Zuko was never one to reign in how he was feeling, at least when it came to his anger, but today would have to be an exception. "That son is gone. I'm all that's left," he finally finished.

"Oh really now?" Ozai asked calmly. "It's not too late, Zuko. You can come back and work for me. I'll give you the freedom you want and we can be a real family."

Zuko was silent for a moment, staring in disbelief at his father's words. "Do you think me so naive that I would actually believe you?" he asked incredulously as Ozai didn't answer. "Then you don't know me at all," he finally said and took out his blade with Mai doing the same. Before their conversation could go any further, a vent got kicked in and landed roughly on Ozai's desk who looked up in surprise to see Aang and Katara land on the ground with a hand on the ground and their blades out.

"Hope we're not too late," Aang grinned at Zuko who grinned back.

"Not at all," he promised before returning his attention to his father. "How would you like to do this, father? We can make it as quick and painless for you as possible, or it can be long and drawn out."

Ozai let out an evil laugh, one that sent chills down their spines. "I always knew you were brave, Zuko, but I didn't take you for a fool. Did you _really_ think I wouldn't have some last line of defense?" he asked curiously. Before anyone could respond, he pressed a button and five soldiers stood at the ready. Each had two different elements held in their hands, making Aang a little nervous. "Yes," he continued with an evil smirk as he savored the fear on their faces. "I unfortunately was not able to make more, but I have these five to get the job done for me, so I'll just sit back and enjoy the show," he said while laying back in his chair.

"It's not too late Ozai," Aang warned him without taking his eyes off the soldiers. "You can stop this now. If you just surrender yourself, then no one else will get hurt."

Ozai just chuckled as he grinned at Aang. "Ever the Stormborn. Trying to play peacemaker, but you weren't made for peace. No, your kind was made for war."

"What are you talking about?" Aang gritted his teeth. "My people were the second most peaceful group in the world, right behind the Air Nomads."

"That may be," Ozai conceded with a malicious look at him. "But there's a reason why you are so powerful. Have you ever wondered why you're so inclined to fight? Why your people were targeted from the beginning to use for the other nations selfish purposes?" he asked seriously. Aang didn't answer, he just stared him down from underneath his hood. "Your people were made to be peacekeepers, but in so doing, they were also made for war. You cannot have peace without war."

Aang shook his head in disbelief at him. "You truly believe that war creates peace? War is chaos, the opposite of peace."

"But to create peace, a war must be won," Ozai pointed out. "Wars are inevitable in the fate of humanity. We simply cannot help ourselves from quarreling with our neighboring countries. It's not a matter of whether war truly creates peace or not, but rather what is done to stop the wars and create peace. And that's what your people were responsible for." He paused and smirked at Aang. "But they were wiped out, erased. Or so we thought until we found you and your family."

Aang growled and took a deep breath. _Keep it together, Aang._ Finally looking up, he pointed his blade at Ozai. "Enough of this. Surrender now and I'll make sure your end comes swiftly."

Ozai just smiled in response. "Did I get under your skin?" he taunted.

"No, but you did manage to make me more determined to take you down," Aang replied slowly, still trying to not let his anger get the best of him. After a few deep breaths, he managed to settle down enough to speak again. "It doesn't matter what my people were made to do. What matters is what _I_ choose to do. And I choose to do is take you down."

Ozai fake sighed and put a hand on his face in boredom. "If you really want it to be that way."

Zuko looked to Aang quickly. "You and Ocean work on the soldiers. Mai and I will take care of my father." Aang nodded in agreement as they all go into a battle stance.

Ozai finally grinned as he kicked up his feet on the desk. "Soldiers, here are your orders! Leave none alive!" he finished with an evil smirk as the soldiers surged forward.


	14. Chapter 14: The Consequences of War

Chapter 14: The Consequences of War

**Hey guys! To those of you who haven't read this on chapter ten, I have seen your complaints about the threesome and I completely understand. Therefore I have removed it and replaced it with Kataang fluff. Sorry about that, but I thought it would be something funny. Nonetheless, it has been removed and is no longer a problem. I am very sorry for those who did not like it. Thanks for reading my apology statement and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Responses to reviews: **

**Javier: I'm glad to hear that you like all the action. I hope I've been writing it decently, but I always feel like my writing's off. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Guest: Thanks! I'm glad that you liked it! Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Lloyd16: Well I'm glad that you like it, but unfortunately this story has one more chapter after this one, so I'm sorry if you were hoping for more. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Kataang29: Glad you think it's cool. I've enjoyed writing it a lot. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Ashley Barbosa: Yeah, they did get pretty close sometimes to an early end. Thanks for reading and the review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

Time seemed to slow down as the soldiers surged forward, giving Aang a new perspective on the situation at hand. All that he had worked for, all that he had done over the eight years he had been protecting the city, every moment, every time he stopped someone from being kidnapped, every drop of blood, sweat, and tears he poured into it led up to this moment. There was no going back. He couldn't even if he wanted to. Ozai was right about one thing. Aang was made to be a peacekeeper, and the only way he could see keeping the peace was to go through with his mission. As these thoughts surged through his mind, the soldiers finally ran close enough to snap Aang out of his thoughts and take out his blade. Aang and Katara met the soldiers in a clash of bending as Aang sent back whatever was shot at him while Katara struggled more, sending water at them and dodging when she couldn't bend what they threw at her back to them.

"Give up now and we'll make your death quick," one of the soldiers promised while shooting a flame at Aang. Aang just dodged it and knocked the soldier off his feet with a gust of wind, leaving him dazed as Aang took advantage of the situation. Quickly running over to the soldier, he ended his life with a swift blow to the throat and watched as the other soldiers froze in fear. They had thought themselves nearly invincible.

Aang stood up from the soldier and turned around to them. "Power doesn't make you invincible," he told them wisely. "It just helps you survive a little longer." The soldiers got back into their stance, but Katara had snuck up behind them as he had their attention and lodged both blades in two of their throats, making them fall dead to the ground as the other soldiers backed up and looked between the two in fear.

"You'll never get us!" one of the soldiers yelled defiantly before charging at Aang. Aang dodged his attack of a fire dagger and sent him hurtling into a wall with a strong gust of air. Unfortunately for Aang, this soldier was quicker on his feet and managed to get back into a fighting stance. Aang groaned inwardly and moved up to resume the fight. Meanwhile, Zuko and Mai were keeping Ozai on his toes.

Zuko attempted to stab Ozai in the heart, but Ozai simply stepped out of the way and let Zuko crash into the wall. Mai glared angrily at him as she took a shuriken out and tried to catch him by surprise, but no matter what they did, Ozai always appeared to be one step ahead of them. "What, you can't kill a simple man?" Ozai taunted as he shot some fire at Mai. Zuko stepped in and cut the flames before shooting some back which Ozai simply dodged, setting a plant on fire.

"Stop moving and we won't have that problem," Zuko shot back before moving up and attempting to slice his throat. Ozai just grabbed his arm and threw him into a wall, making Mai furious as she charged him. Ozai laughed evilly as he waited to kill her, but as she arrived, she faked a jump and managed to graze his arm as he just barely managed to avoid getting killed by her blade. He growled in pain and turned to face her when Zuko took him by surprise and kicked him into another room, making a large hole in the drywall with Ozai's figure. Zuko turned to Mai. "Shall we?" Mai nodded and they ran into the room.

``Why do you even bother?" one of the guards taunted as he shot some water at Aang who redirected it in the form of an ice fist which the soldier just barely managed to dodge. "You know you can't beat us."

Aang shook his head as he shot some fire at the soldier he was facing. "Even if that was true, I would still be fighting. This is too big of a deal to just let go by. Ozai can't be allowed to take over the world."

The soldier snorted as he shot some more water at Aang, but Aang just made it evaporate with fire, leaving the guard without his second element. "You'll pay for that!" he growled before getting back into the fight.

Katara was finally getting the upper hand on her opponent. He clearly hadn't had that much training, and he was beginning to show it as he grew tired. "Surrender, now!" he yelled weakly.

"Sorry. Not gonna happen," Katara replied as she sent a volley of ice daggers at him. He just barely managed to dodge them, but what he hadn't been expecting was the puddle that he was currently stepping in. Katara froze the water and turned to him.

He attempted in a futile effort to break the ice, but he was not a waterbender and his weapon wasn't strong enough to shatter it. Katara took her chance at this distraction and charged forward, dodging a blast of fire before she turned around behind him and stuck her blade in his neck, promptly ending his life before she moved in to help Aang. Aang was still keeping the soldier busy. This soldier proved to be wiser than the other he had faced. Every time he took a step in one direction, the soldier would take a step in the opposite direction, making his job harder. Aang shot forward on a gust of air and knocked the soldier back into a wall, leaving him dazed as his hurt head tried desperately to regain its bearings. Katara and Aang nodded to each other before they charged him, Aang with a blow to the heart and Katara with a blow to the head. The final soldier fell dead at their feet as they panted heavily, doing their best to catch their breaths. "Well at least that's over," Aang sighed in relief.

"Yeah," Katara agreed with a breathless laugh. "They were definitely more challenging to fight than the others we've fought before." Then a thought popped into their minds at the exact same time. "Zuko and Mai!" they yelled in unison while looking at each other before running into the next room.

"How long can you keep this up, son?" Ozai taunted as he shot a pillar of flame at him. Zuko dodged it and sent some back in the form of a fire bomb, but Ozai just put a fire shield over it and let it explode into it. "You still have much to learn."

Zuko rolled his eyes as they all ganged up on him. "And you still have to die," he responded icily, feeling all of the pain from his father's punishment come back. Running forward without another word, Zuko shot some fire at his face and attempted to stab him in the back, but Ozai dodged both attempts on his life and turned around to taunt him.

"Oh please," he replied dismissively. "You couldn't kill me if you tried." Aang took the initiative and sent a strong gust of air at Ozai, temporarily disorienting him before he charged him. Ozai managed to just barely dodge Aang's blade that was aimed for his heart and kick him away. Aang had been expecting this, however, and managed to land on his feet as he resumed the fight. They all backed Ozai into a corner, making him growl as he looked at them. "So this is how it's going to be, is it?"

"Yes," Zuko agreed with his blade out. "It is."

Ozai smirked evilly and looked to Katara who was checking up on Aang and used it to his advantage. Without another word, he kicked a flame at the distracted Katara and sent her back into the wall, making Aang gasp as he saw her not move. Fury flooded through him as he turned back to Ozai. _Don't lose control, don't lose control_, he begged himself, but it was too late. He was already gone. The rage and worry he felt inside finally consumed him and closed his eyes for a moment, opening to reveal the furious blank white eyes of the Stormborn. Ozai's smirk dropped as he recognized the unmatched rage in his eyes. "Uh oh…"

* * *

Toph was having the time of her life. She had never had as much fun as she was now. Being able to destroy things was always a favorite pastime of hers, but destroying the expensive equipment of an evil tyrant? It didn't get better than that. "Sunshine, we need to get moving!" Toph yelled as she finished smashing the remnants of a machine.

Ty Lee came cartwheeling in with a guard right behind her. "Sorry, I've been a little busy, bandit," she replied before flipping around and disabling the soldier by hitting his pressure points and making him fall to the ground. She swiftly took his life and returned to Toph. "So what's next?"

"We need to get into that room," Toph pointed across the hallway. "According to the blueprints, that's where the last of the devices are being kept."

"Okay! Let's go!" Ty Lee said cheerily before walking up to the door. The door was locked and shut tightly, much to their annoyance as they attempted to open it.

Toph tried punching it, but it wouldn't budge. "What's the deal? Usually my fist can at least make a hole in it," she grumbled while rubbing her damaged knuckle.

Ty Lee shrugged as she surveyed the door and noticed a vent above them. "Oh! I'll go in the vent and unlock it from the other side!"

"That could work," Toph mused as she thought about it. "Go ahead, Sunshine. I'll be waiting." Ty Lee nodded before she ran up the wall and dove into the vent, leaving Toph bored as she not-so-patiently waited for Ty Lee to open the door. Ty Lee crawled through the vents until she found the opening to drop down into the room. Taking her chance, she kicked the vent cover open and dropped down and was surprised to find a few soldiers there watching monitors.

"Things aren't looking good for the boss," one said as Ty Lee crept over to the door and prepared to punch in the code that was on the wall next to it.

"What do you mean?" the middle soldier asked as he looked closer. "I mean, it's kinda freaky that the Stormborn's eyes are white, but…"

The third soldier spoke up. "He's right. That's what happens when a Stormborn loses control. The Stormborn is going to take out the boss, and us with it if we don't get out of here."

"Yeah, you're right," the middle soldier agreed as Ty Lee punched in the code quickly. "Let's get out of here." They turned around quickly when they heard the door open and were greeted by the wolfish grin of Toph.

"Who's ready to have some fun?" Toph smirked as she cracked her knuckles. The soldiers just took out their swords and got into a fighting stance, but they hadn't seen Ty Lee sneak up behind them. Before any of them knew it, Ty Lee had hit all of their pressure points and sent them to the ground before quickly taking their lives. "Hey!" Toph complained as she walked in. "At least let me in on _some_ of the action."

Ty Lee just shrugged with a smile. "Sorry!" she responded cheerily. "I'll try next time!" Toph just rolled her eyes and took off her meteorite bracelet, turning it into a large pile of rocks around them.

"Watch out, sunshine!" Toph warned her. Ty Lee stepped out of the way and Toph sent all of the rocks at the equipment, smashing them to pieces before she looked at the wreckage with a satisfied smirk. "That should take care of that." She turned to Ty Lee. "Okay, all of the equipment's been taken care of. We should go outside and join the fight."

"But what about those guys?" she pointed to the people on the monitor. "Shouldn't we go help them?"

Toph shook her head as she started walking out of the room. "There's four of them and one tyrant. If they can't kill him, then they don't deserve to be called heroes. Come on, we've got to help them outside." Toph took off running down the hallway towards the door while Ty Lee hesitated. She had heard what the soldiers were saying, but if what they said was true, it sounded like they would be fine. Shaking her head, she took off after Toph to join the fight.

* * *

The battle raged on outside, but the students and Masters were making headway. Especially with Suki and Sokka reinforcing them. Sokka made his way over to Piandao and saved him from a soldier sneaking up behind him. "How's it going, Master?" he asked as he stabbed another guard.

"It's going very well!" he yelled back over the noise as he sliced a soldier and kicked another one away. "With you two here, we'll get this done even sooner!"

Suki came from above and landed on a soldier with her blade in his throat before resuming her attack. "Enough chit-chat! We need to fight!" Sokka and Piandao nodded in response and got back to the fight.

Iroh shot some flames at another soldier who was being distracted by Bumi, taking his life as his skull smashed into a wall. "How are there so many soldiers?!" he asked in annoyance. Another soldier came running up to him, but he just kicked him away to Sokka who stabbed him and sent him to the ground.

"No clue!" Sokka responded quickly. "But I sure hope there aren't anymore."

"Agreed," Iroh laughed before getting back into the fight.

Bumi cackled as he picked up a large amount of Earth and sent it towards a portion of the soldiers. "Enjoy!" he yelled cheerfully and watched as the rocks crushed them. Satisfied with his work, he turned his attention to another group of soldiers. "I haven't had this much fun in years!"

Pakku came up behind him and froze the soldiers in place with ice. "Me neither, old friend. Me neither," he agreed with a grin. Bumi cackled again and took a large rock before shooting it out in shrapnel, quickly taking the soldiers lives.

"We are doing well!" Jeong Jeong yelled as he killed two soldiers. "It won't be long before they run out of soldiers to send out!"

"I hope so!" Piandao agreed as he killed another soldier. A loud rumbling could be heard from the top of the building, making them all pause as they looked up to see what was happening. "That can't be good." Nothing happened for several moments, so they went back to their fight. _I wonder how Stormborn is doing_, he thought as the fight continued.

* * *

Ozai just stared dumbfoundedly into the blank, furious eyes of the Stormborn, completely too shocked for him to think clearly. Aang's rage couldn't be matched by anyone. He had hurt the girl he loved, and he would pay for that mistake. With his rage only building, he slowly rose up on a ball of air and hovered over the group. "Ozai," Aang snarled in the voices of his ancestors mixed with his own. "Prepare to die." Without another word, Aang summoned each of the elements and surrounded himself with it before returning his attention to Ozai, his death glare unflinching.

Ozai finally snapped out of his daze and made the decision to run. Kicking open the door to his right, he ran out with Aang right behind him, obliterating everything in his path. Once Zuko and Mai finally got out of their shock, Zuko looked to his fiance. "Check on Katara! I need to go make sure Aang doesn't destroy this place!" Mai nodded while he ran out of the room. With a quick rush to Katara's side, Mai knelt down and turned Katara over. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be too damaged. A few bruises and scrapes, but nothing fatal.

"Katara," Mai shook her, hoping for some kind of response. "Katara, wake up." Katara finally groaned a little, making Mai sigh in relief. "Wake up, Katara."

"Don't wanna," Katara yawned before turning over on her side.

Mai looked at her in disbelief. "Katara, we're kind of in the middle of a battle right now," she said incredulously. Katara's eyes widened as she remembered where she was and quickly sat up and looked around, noticing Aang wasn't there.

"Where's Aang?" she asked worriedly with fear evident on her face.

"He's um…" Mai trailed off, not knowing how to describe what had happened. "Glowing right now." Katara looked confused as Mai sighed. "Ozai shot you back into a wall and knocked you out, and Aang wasn't sure if he had killed you or not, and I guess that triggered him."

Katara's eyebrows raised in surprise. "_Triggered him?_" she asked in confusion before realization dawned on her. "Oh no! The Stormborn Effect! He's going to destroy this place if we don't stop him!"

"Well come on! We need to get going!" Mai yelled as she stood up and offered her hand. Katara took it and they quickly took off after the others, trying their best to catch up amidst the destruction Aang had left behind in his fury. After a few more moments, a loud crash could be heard as Zuko came flying into a wall, groaning loudly as he rubbed his head. "Zuko!" she yelled before she ran up to him with Katara right behind. "What happened?"

He groaned again and rubbed his head, trying to numb the pain. "I tried to get to him inside his air shield, but the wind just blew me into this wall." The pain made him wince before he got back to his feet. "Come on. We need to get to him before this whole place comes down!" They followed him as they attempted to catch up, but Aang and Ozai had a good head start on them. "Where are they?" he growled in frustration.

"Stay away from me, weakling!" Ozai yelled over his shoulder as he shot some flames at him. Aang just air bent the flames out of his way and continued his pursuit, completely oblivious to the damage he was causing as he pursued his prey.

"You will die," the Stormborn promised as he shot some flames at him. Ozai narrowly avoided the flames and continued to run, knowing that if he stopped he would die. A few soldiers who had gone inside from the fight to live were standing in the hallway as Ozai charged through. Taking this to his advantage, he grabbed one of the soldiers and threw him at Aang, but the soldier was cremated in the flames surrounding him. "Your soldiers will not save you!" his mixed voice yelled.

Ozai growled and continued his run as Aang continued his obliteration, leaving little left from what used to be the floor they were on. "Why won't you die?!" Ozai yelled as he turned around for a split second and threw a fire bomb at him. Aang didn't flinch and simply bent the air to move it out of his way, destroying a room in the process. Seeing his luck hadn't panned out, Ozai continued running until he came across a room with a large chandelier in the center. _Perfect,_ he thought with a smug smirk before he changed directions and ran into the room. Aang followed in behind him, having no idea what Ozai was planning.

Zuko, Mai, and Katara had finally caught up with them after following their trail of destruction to see them go into another room. "Come on!" he called behind him as they ran. "If we can catch up with Aang, we can make sure he stops before even more damage is done to this place!"

"Yeah, this place looks like it's about to go down as it is," Mai agreed as they finally reached the room. As Ozai was backed into a corner, Aang hovered just below the chandelier.

"Ozai!" his multi-layered voice rang clearly throughout the room. "You shall perish for your transgressions! You will be made to suffer!"

Ozai smirked as he looked up to the chandelier. "No, Stormborn! Today _you_ will be the one made to suffer!" Aang raised his hand, ready to strike, but Ozai shot a quick flame at the string holding the chandelier and sent it crashing down on him.

"Aang!" Katara cried desperately as it landed on top of him. A large cloud of dust kicked up from the ground, making everyone cough and close their eyes as the noise coming from Aang quieted down. Katara rubbed her eyes and looked at the wreckage of the chandelier, unable to see his body. She dropped down to her knees with tears streaming from her eyes. "Aang," she whispered brokenly as her tears hit the ground.

"It's over!" Ozai yelled gleefully with his hands raised in triumph. "The Stormborn is dead! No one can stand in my way now!" He turned to them with an evil smile. "And you'll be the first ones to die during my reign!" Before another word could be said, a large shockwave shot throughout the room, setting the place on fire as a few sparks activated with the gas from the ovens in the nearby kitchen. Aang slowly rose in a ball of electricity with lightning daggers in his hands.

"It's not over," his multi-layered voice responded as lightning coursed through his body, making Ozai's eyes widen in fear.

Katara gasped as she saw her love. "Aang!" She tried to run to him, but Zuko and Mai held her in place. "Not yet," Mai whispered. Katara still struggled, but she couldn't get loose from their grip, so she waited.

"No!" Ozai yelled desperately as the three moved to surround him and Aang hovered above him. "I will not die like this!" He shot some flames at the three surrounding him and barely managed to dodge Aang's slice of the lightning daggers and ran out of the room, much to their annoyance. Aang didn't hesitate and followed him, leaving a scorching trail as he went.

Zuko looked to Mai. "Come on! We still haven't gotten him to calm down yet! We need to move!" Mai nodded and dragged Katara who was still slightly in shock from all that had happened. They followed the trail and were amazed as they saw a hole in the ground where Aang had followed Ozai.

"He really _is_ powerful," Mai muttered to herself as they looked at the hole in amazement.

"Now's not the time!" Zuko yelled over a crashing sound from below them. "We need to get to them."

Katara didn't hesitate and jumped down with Mai and Zuko right behind her. Fortunately for them, Aang was still leaving his mark on the building as he hunted Ozai, not willing to stop until Ozai ceased breath. After a few minutes of running, they finally caught up enough to see Aang chasing Ozai down a hallway before they took a sharp left. "Come on you two! We need to get to him!" she yelled over her shoulder before resuming her focus on getting to him. No matter what happened, she _had _to get to him. She had already thought she lost him once, and she wasn't going to allow that to happen again. They ran after them as they felt the building shake, its foundations clearly weakening the more Aang chased his quarry.

"We need to get to him _now_!" Mai yelled as they returned to running. "The building's on its last legs already! It's not going to be able to take much more of this!" The building shook more, making them temporarily lose their balance before they caught themselves, proving her point before they ran after them. As they ran, Katara couldn't help but worry for her brother. _Please God, protect all of my friends and family_, she begged as they continued their pursuit.

* * *

More sounds of destruction came from the building as the battle raged on, leaving Sokka worried for his sister. _I hope she's okay,_ he thought to himself as he took a soldier's life. Fortunately for them, the soldiers numbers had been dwindling, and it wouldn't be long before the battle was won. Everyone was becoming tired, though, as they fought. There had been many soldiers, and even the masters seemed to be wearing down. "How many more of these guys are there?" Sokka complained as he stabbed one and sliced into another.

Suki came in from the side and stabbed a guard in the throat with her blade and smashed in another's skull with her fan. "There's not too many left now!" she yelled over the noises of war. "We're almost finished!"

"We'll be finished once Ozai is dead!" Piandao yelled as he sparred with a soldier. "This fight is not yet over!"

Meanwhile, Iroh and Bumi were fighting side by side, holding off a group of soldiers who had come in at the last moment. "Why are there so many?" Iroh complained as he shot some fire at another.

Bumi cackled as he threw a rock at a soldier who got sent back into the wall. "You've gotten old since I last saw you. Are you sure you don't want to sit this one out?" he teased before taking on more soldiers. Iroh just let out a long sigh as the fight continued.

Jeong Jeong, however, was not tired. Despite preferring peace to war, he was enjoying himself as they battled. "It has been a long time since we've fought together, hasn't it old friend?" he grinned at Pakku who was backing soldiers up with a water whip.

Pakku grinned as he froze the soldiers against the wall and let Jeong Jeong make short work of them. "It has, old friend. Though I must admit, I miss those days. Back then I didn't feel as creaky as I do now."

"I agree. Those were the days," Jeong Jeong laughed as they turned to help a group of students who were holding their own against a large group of soldiers. "But let us not focus on our past glories, but our present ones!"

"To battle!" Pakku agreed as they rushed forward to help the students.

Toph and Ty Lee were holding their own amongst the sea of chaos. Toph was having fun while Ty Lee supported her, disabling enemy soldiers whenever she got the chance. "You know that you can stab them, right?" Toph yelled over the noise.

Ty Lee shrugged. "Yeah, but I'd prefer to let someone else do that. I don't want to get blood on my nailpolish." Toph rolled her eyes as she continued to fight.

"But the blood will look just like your nail polish," Toph taunted as she stabbed a soldier and sent a boulder at another.

Ty Lee looked down at the blood on her hand and compared it to her nails, gasping as she realized Toph was unintentionally right. "Oh my gosh! I didn't even think of that!" Needing no more convincing, Ty Lee stopped hesitating and helped Toph take out a group of soldiers, finishing the job within minutes. The cries of war lessened as the soldiers went down in number, making the resistance fighters have renewed energy as they moved to finish them off. A loud boom came from the middle of the building as a chunk of what Toph could only assume was an office came crashing down near a group of students. The building began to shake every few moments or so, making them worry as the battle raged on.

"Don't do anything stupid, Twinkle Toes," Toph muttered as she continued to fight.

* * *

Aang wasn't himself. That was plain to see. The destruction he was causing would have made the real Aang pause, but he had no control over himself. Not this time. The rage from his love being hurt had sent him over the edge, and there was no going back until Ozai had paid with blood. Ozai continued running down a hallway with Aang right behind him. He was amazed that he had survived this long, especially with the electric tendrils reaching out to grab him every so often. If it hadn't been for his agility and reflexes, he would be long dead. "Stop moving!" the Stormborn's mixed voice yelled at him.

Ozai didn't answer as he continued running, not knowing where he was going, but knowing that if he stopped he would die. He was growing tired, though, and it was only a matter of time until what little energy he had left was spent. Not far behind them was Katara, Mai, and Zuko trying their best to catch up. The building was only getting worse under the Stormborn's wrath, and it wouldn't be long before the damage became irreversible. After a few more minutes of running, they finally caught sight of the electrified Stormborn. "Aang!" Katara yelled as they ran, trying to get his attention. Fortunately for them, Ozai had decided to stop running in circles and to try and escape another way. Taking a sharp right turn into a large room everyone filed in as Ozai was backed into a corner.

"Surrender now and your end will come swiftly," the Stormborn promised.

Ozai glared at him. "No! I will never surrender!"

"Then you will die a slow death," the Stormborn responded with a face of stone. Aang could hear the words he was saying, but he couldn't quite register them. All he could think about was how Ozai had hurt Katara. He wasn't fully in control, but he didn't care. Ozai had caused too much suffering, and he would ensure that it never happened again.

"Aang!" Katara yelled over the sizzling electricity. "Please! Calm down! We need you to be calm! _I_ need you to be calm!"

Katara's words broke through him as he continued his death glare at Ozai, finally snapping him back to reality as he regained his control. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exited the Stormborn Effect and lowered himself to the ground, the electricity sizzling out until it was gone. "I won't end it like this," he told Ozai as he looked at him from under his hood.

"You are weak," Ozai said in disgust. "Just like your people. And you will die, just like them!" he yelled as he launched an attack at Aang. Aang merely broke it and walked towards Ozai with his friends next to him.

"You're wrong, Ozai," Aang responded as he looked to his friends with a smile. "My people were never weak, we were strong because we had each other. I am strong because I have a family. Who do you have?"

Ozai growled as he looked each of his foes in the face. "You will not take me alive!"

"We were never planning to," Zuko shot back as he got into a fighting stance. Ozai growled again and shot some flames at him, but Zuko dodged and sent some of his own right back. "Your whole path has led to this moment, father. Everything you've done to this city will be paid for today."

Ozai snarled. "We'll see, _son_." Without another word he restarted the attack, taking Mai by surprise as he shot some flames at her. She merely dodged them and sent a shuriken his way, but he managed to avoid its sharp edge and sent a wall of fire towards Katara. Aang stepped in and air bent it away before he sent his own blast of fire, narrowly missing Ozai who had to duck from the stream of fire that was inches from his face. "You can't kill me!" he shouted. "I'm invincible!"

Aang shook his head. "No one is invincible, Ozai. Least of all you." Ozai glared at him and started up the motions for electricity, but Aang quickly knocked him off his feet with a gust of air and ran over to him with his blade by his throat as everyone surrounded him. Ozai continued to glare at Aang as he awaited his death.

"Well?" Ozai sneered, doing his best to hide the fear in his voice. "What are you waiting for? Finish the job!"

"No," Aang shook his head before looking to Zuko. "I'm not the one who you burnt for the sake of keeping in line. The decision's yours, Zuko. Whatever you decide, I'll understand."

Zuko was silent for a moment. He hadn't been expecting this to happen, and he didn't know what to do. On one hand, it would be fitting to put the man who had put him in so much misery to death himself, but on the other, he _was_ his father. Could he really kill him in cold blood like that? Looking down at the defeated man before him, he let out a long sigh and nodded slowly as he took Aang's place with his blade out. Aang walked over and took Katara's hand as she kissed his cheek, completely relieved that he was there by her side. "Father," Zuko started as he looked down into the seething eyes of defiance. "We haven't always had the best relationship." He laughed bitterly. "In fact you could say that before you hurt me we never got along. What I'm trying to say is… even though I've hated you for years, before I do this, I want to tell you that I…" he took a deep breath. "I forgive you."

"What a touching moment," Ozai mocked him as Zuko rolled his eyes, completely expecting this but still being annoyed anyway. "Were you hoping for an apology? For me to get on my knees and beg for your forgiveness? Never," he snarled. "You are not my son."

Zuko looked him in the eye one last time. "And you are not my father," he agreed as he took a deep breath and moved his blade to his chest. Without another word, he buried it as far as he could go into Ozai's chest, making him howl in pain until Zuko was sure that Ozai wouldn't be able to live from the blow. Slowly retracting it, he stood up and looked at his quickly dying father. "Goodbye, father."

"Oh, this isn't goodbye," Ozai laughed weakly as he pulled a box with a red button out of his pocket. "We will see each other soon, in hell." He pressed the button and a few explosions came from below them, shaking the building as it lost the last of its support. The building groaned as Ozai grinned evilly at them. "See you on the other side, weaklings," he laughed before coughing up blood and his eyes finally dimmed. The group didn't have much time to react as another rumble of the building went off, causing the building to shake more.

"Uh oh," Aang muttered as they all looked at each other.

* * *

The fight was coming to a close as they fought with Ozai, the soldiers down to a few small groups backed up against the tower. "This battle is almost won!" Piandao yelled triumphantly as everyone else cheered with him. They all gathered in a large group and surrounded the remaining soldiers. "Soldiers! Put down your arms now and you will live!"

"We're mercenaries!" one of the soldiers yelled back. "We fight until we die!"

Piandao sighed and shook his head. "If that's how you want it, then so be it!" He pointed his sword at them. "Finish them!" The students and masters roared in approval as they surged forward with renewed energy, ready for the long battle to finally be over with.

"We need to make sure that none escape!" Suki yelled to Sokka as everyone else ran forward.

Sokka thought about it for a moment when an idea came to mind before he radioed in to Toph. "Bandit! You and Sunshine need to go to the left side of the soldiers to make sure none of them escape. Silver and I will cover the right side."

Static came in and then the sounds of Earth being shot forward with some muffled cries. "Fine! We'll move out now!" she yelled over the noise as they made their way forward to their position.

Sokka looked to Suki. "Come on, we need to make sure that this gets done." Suki nodded and followed him as he led the way to their position and waited. Not many tried to escape, but every once in a while a soldier would come running out in an attempt to get away but would be met by Suki or Sokka's blade. It wasn't long before there was one last group of soldiers left. Seeing that there was no escape, they prepared themselves for one last battle when the building shook loudly, making the team worry for their friends who were still up there.

"Do you think they're okay?" Suki asked worriedly as the students surged in on the rest of the soldiers.

Sokka looked up to the weak tower with worry in his eyes. "I hope so," he muttered before returning his attention to the task at hand. "We'll worry about them later. Let's make sure this gets done." Suki nodded and was about to run off to help finish the fight, but two large explosions from the center of the building. "Oh no," he gasped as a large chunk of the tower came down straight for the soldiers. The soldiers who hadn't noticed what was going on looked at the retreating students in confusion as a piece of the building landed on them, finishing off the last of Ozai's soldiers.

Suki gasped as she saw the building start to crumble. "Be careful, you guys."

* * *

"Come on!" Aang yelled as he took Katara's hand and ran towards the stairs. "We need to get out of here before this whole place comes crashing down!" Zuko and Mai were right behind them as they ran down the stairway, already exhausted from their battle, but the adrenaline from fear of death giving them the energy they needed to continue on.

Unfortunately for them, the stairs were already on fire and starting to spread, slowing them down as Aang air bent the flames out of their way. The smoke was starting to get to them as they ran. "Careful, Aang!" Katara yelled as he almost tripped on a broken railing that was on the steps. He quickly stepped over it and continued running as they made their way down the stairs. After a few flights, Aang looked at the numbers and saw that they were on the tenth floor.

"Okay guys!" he yelled over the crackling of the burning building. "We're close enough to the ground where I can jump down safely and get us to the ground." They nodded in response and followed him to a broken window where an office used to be. He picked up Katara and looked back to Zuko and Mai. "I can only carry one person at a time, but I'll be right back!" he promised before jumping down. The building shook some more as Zuko and Mai tried their best to keep their footing. Another burst caused Mai to fall on her butt as some of the floor gave way underneath her, making one leg dangle in mid air while she held herself up with her arms. "Mai!" Zuko shouted as her ran over to her and attempted to help. Another shake of the building made Mai go deeper, causing the floor to give more until she started to fall. "I got you!" Zuko told her as he grabbed her hand and tried to yank her up.

The building began to shake more and more as it rapidly fell apart. Mai looked around and knew that the building didn't have much time left. "Zuko, you have to let me go!"

Zuko looked at her in disbelief. "What?! I'm not letting you go!" The building shook more as Mai slipped farther, bringing Zuko a little closer to the hole. "Aang! Where are you?!" There was no response as another shake of the building got them closer.

Mai looked at him sadly. "Zuko, you have to let me go. You'll die if you don't."

"But you'll die if I do!" Zuko argued without letting go, trying to keep his feet snagged on a firm piece of metal that had wedged into the floor. The building continued shaking as they argued, becoming more and more dangerous as time passed. "I'm not letting you go! I don't want to live without you!"

Mai smiled sadly as she squeezed his hand. "But you'll have to, Zuko. I'm not going to make it out of this, but you have a chance. Let me go."

"No!" Zuko refused with tears in his eyes. "I'm not letting you go!" He turned to look over his shoulder, but Aang still wasn't there.

Mai sighed sadly and kissed his hand. "I love you, Zuko. No matter what, always remember that."

"No," Zuko whispered with tears streaming down his face, keeping an iron grip on her hand.

"Goodbye Zuko," she said before she finally let go, dropping out of Zuko's sight.

"NO!" Zuko screamed as he reached forward to catch her, but it was too late. She was gone. His sobs shook throughout his body as Aang finally reached the top and walked over to Zuko, seeing the tears streaming down his face.

"Zuko, what's wro-" he cut himself off as he noticed Mai wasn't there. "Oh," he muttered with deep sadness for his friend.

Zuko whipped around and glared at him. "You! What took you so long?! Why weren't you here sooner?! If you had been here a minute sooner, we could have saved her!"

Aang looked down sadly as the building shook again. "I'm sorry, Zuko! I tried to get here as fast as I could, but there was only so much I could do!" The building shook with a heavier force as it started moving forward. "You can yell at me later! Right now we need to get out of here!"

"No! If Mai died, then I'm dying too!" he yelled back as he prepared to jump into the hole, but Aang grabbed him and slung him over his shoulder. "Let me go!"

"I'm sorry, Zuko," Aang muttered before he ran over to the window and jumped, slowly making his way back down as the building crashed into the park that was behind it. Fortunately, those who had been in the park had seen it falling and wisely ran away. Aang watched as it finally fell down, kicking up a dust cloud throughout the city. After a few moments, they finally landed and he set Zuko on the ground who fell to his knees and burst into tears, only able to think of his lost love. "I'm so sorry, Zuko," Aang muttered as he knelt down next to him. Zuko continued crying until Aang awkwardly gave him a hug which Zuko returned, feeling the anger he previously had towards Aang go away.

Piandao walked over to them and put a hand on Aang's shoulder. "It's over. The battle's won."

Aang nodded reluctantly as Zuko continued to cry into his shoulder. "But not without a price," he murmured before he returned to comforting Zuko. "Not without a price."


	15. Chapter 15: Every End is a New Beginning

Chapter 15: Every End is a New Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

A week after the battle against Ozai, things were starting to calm down in the city. With all of the chaos that had been going on lately, the city had needed a responsible temporary mayor, and Aang suggested Chief Hakoda for the job. With Hakoda's help, Aang and the Gaang slowly returned the city to what it used to be, helping its citizens get back on their feet from Ozai's cruelty. It was a time of celebration as the people finally had what they should have had long ago: their freedoms. They were now free to do what they pleased without worrying about being kidnapped. A new age had started, one that Aang hoped would last a while. The people had been afraid for too long, and he would make sure that everything was set right. "Hey." He looked up to see Katara sit down next to him at the war room table. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the celebration party?"

Aang smiled softly and shook his head. "I'll be there soon. I've just had a lot of things on my mind lately."

"Like what?" she asked curiously with a hint of worry in your voice. "Is everything alright?"

He nodded slowly with a sigh. "Yeah… it's just… I feel _horrible_ for what happened to Zuko," he admitted with downcast eyes. "I can only imagine the pain that he's going through right now."

Katara looked down sadly as she remembered what had happened to her friend. Mai and her weren't super close, but they still had become good friends over the time they knew each other. She had been very sad to hear what happened. "Yeah… you're right," she sighed in agreement as she looked down at her feet. "I thought I had lost you, but at least you came back. I hope he's doing okay."

"Well, if you call being locked up in your room and crying your eyes out 'okay', then I guess he is," Aang chuckled bitterly. "It's all my fault," he whispered after a few moments of silence.

She looked at him in surprise. "Aang, it's not your fault. There's nothing you could have done. There just wasn't enough time."

Aang shook his head slowly, refusing to look at her. "Maybe if I had been faster, maybe if I had tried to take two people down at once, then maybe she would still be alive."

Katara wrapped him in a hug which he returned after a few moments. "Aang, there was _nothing_ you could have done," she repeated herself with a firm tone. "They understood the risks of what could happen and they accepted them. You did everything you could, and that's what matters." Aang let out a long sigh before she pulled back and kissed him on the lips. "I know it's not easy to accept, but there are some things that are just out of our control. I'm sure Zuko understands that you did everything you could." Aang still didn't look sure, so she gave him a reassuring squeeze of his hand. "Come on. We should be celebrating, not moping. Mai wouldn't want us to be sad over her death."

Aang let out one last sigh and nodded slowly. "Yeah… you're right," he admitted reluctantly. He looked at her with love plain in his eyes. "Thank you, Kat. I love you."

"I love you too," Katara smiled before giving him a kiss. She took his hand and tugged him up. "Come on. The party needs its leader."

"I'll be down there in a few. There's something I've got to do first," he told her. She looked unsure, but he gave her a reassuring smile and she relented.

"Okay. But if you're not down there in ten minutes, I"m coming to get you," she said jokingly, making him chuckle a little.

He raised a hand in the air. "Don't worry. I'll be there. Stormborn's Promise." She smiled and gave him another kiss before going to the elevator and making her way down. Taking a deep breath, he slowly made his way over to Zuko's room, hoping he wouldn't be too much of a burden. As he reached the door, he hesitated. Should he really do this? Zuko was in enough pain right now. Should he just leave him alone? No. Zuko needed someone to be there for him, and right now Aang was the man for the job. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. "Hey Zuko?"

There was no response for a moment before he heard footsteps and the door opened to reveal a puffy-eyed Zuko in his pjs. "What, Aang?" he asked tiredly, sadness dripping from his voice.

"Look," Aang started as he looked down at his feet. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Zuko raised a brow in confusion. "Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

"For not getting there in time," Aang explained with a sigh as he looked down at his feet. "Maybe if I had been a little faster, maybe I could have saved her."

Zuko was silent for a moment before he shook his head. "You did everything you could, Aang. I know you did, because you're not the kind of guy to slack, especially for something like that. I'm sorry that I yelled at you that day, but I was just in so much pain…" he trailed off sadly.

"Hey, it's okay. I understand," Aang said quickly. "You had every right to yell at me. You were hurt and sad. I get it."

Tears started streaming down Zuko's face as he thought of his lost love. "I joined this group so that I could have a life with her. A _free_ life with her. I got my freedom, but I lost her in the process." He looked down as the tears started hitting the ground. "I'm so sorry, Mai," he whispered brokenly. Aang awkwardly gave him a hug which he returned, wetting Aang's shoulder with his rapidly falling tears.

"It's not your fault, Zuko," Aang finally said after a few moments of letting Zuko get it out. "She knew what could happen if you guys joined us and she accepted it. You did everything you could." Zuko was silent as he listened to Aang's words, wanting to accept them but not being able to. "I'm sorry that you lost her, but she wouldn't want you to be this way. She would want you to be strong and move on with your life. She would want you to be happy."

Zuko shook his head. "But I don't want to move on with my life. I'm empty inside without her." Aang gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "I don't want to forget her," he whispered sadly.

Aang pulled away and looked him in the eye. "Then don't," he responded simply. "Keep her where she belongs: in your heart. Even if she's gone, she'll always be with you Zuko. And one day, you _will_ see her again." A few moments of silence passed before Zuko trusted himself to speak again.

"Okay," he finally agreed reluctantly before he took a deep breath. "I'll never forget her. For the rest of my life, I'll never stop thinking about her."

Aang smiled a little. "She knows that. And I'm sure she can't wait to see you, too." Zuko smiled with a sniffle and nodded slowly before Aang took a step back. "Come on. How about we go celebrate our victory?"

"I'll be down there in a few minutes," Zuko promised as he looked back into his room. "There's something I need to do first." Aang nodded and walked away, leaving Zuko alone. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to a picture of him and Mai back in high school. "Mai," he said aloud with a shaky breath. "I am _so _sorry for not being able to save you. I should have been the one who died." There was silence in the room. "But I know that you would want me to live and move on with my life, so I will." He paused and looked at her small smile in the picture. "But I want you to know that I will _never_ forget you for as long as I live." A small breeze went through his hair, making him smile a little as he stared at her picture. "I love you, Mai." The breeze flowed again before it disappeared, making him sigh heavily before he turned around and got some clothes on. Although he knew that it would take a long time before he was really okay, he knew that Mai would always be there for him, and he would never forget her. Taking one last deep breath, he walked out of the room and made his way to the party, feeling a newfound courage for what was next in his life.

* * *

The party was going well as everyone talked and ate in the lunchroom. It was an odd mix of happiness and sadness as they remembered all that had happened since the team was formed. Everyone had grown close over the time they had worked together. They were truly a family now as they sat around the table. "Remember the time Toph wouldn't jump down for the air strike?" Sokka joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Toph glared at him. "You _really_ want to do this, Meathead?" Sokka gulped and shook his head quickly. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Toph smirked before she leaned back against her boyfriend.

Aang couldn't help but laugh at their antics. "Are you guys ever going to get along? You've been like this ever since Sokka called you a chicken."

"Maybe if he apologizes," Toph shrugged with an uncaring yawn. "But otherwise, no. No one calls me a chicken and gets away with it."

Sokka couldn't help but roll his eyes at her. "I was trying to get you on the team, so sorry that I wounded your pride."

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise as they looked at him. "You actually thought of that?" Aang asked in disbelief. Sokka nodded with a smug smirk. "Wow, I gotta hand it to you, Sokka. That was pretty slick," he laughed as Katara leaned against him and he wrapped her in his arms, making her smile and sigh in contentment.

"Yep, I can be pretty smart sometimes," he responded proudly with a grin. Katara just rolled her eyes and decided to let her brother have a moment. He so rarely got them that she decided to be nice for just this once. "So, how's Zuko holding up?"

"Why don't you ask me that yourself?" Zuko broke in as the elevator doors opened and he walked into the room. The room cheered for him, making him smile as he took the open seat next to Jin. "Thanks guys. I appreciate it."

"Anytime," Aang grinned as Katara snuggled into him. "Are you hungry? We've got twenty fresh pizzas over there on the table."

Zuko's stomach growled at the mention of food, much to his embarrassment as everyone else laughed. "Yeah, I guess I could eat," he admitted sheepishly before he got up to get some food.

"I could go for some food too!" Sokka said excitedly as he bolted up and ran for the table, making everyone once again laugh at him.

Suki looked over at Zuko as he sat back in his seat. "How are you holding up? Do you want to talk about it?"

Zuko shook his head. "I'm fine, thank you though. Aang helped me out of it." He looked over to Aang with a soft smile. "Thank you."

"Hey, what else are friends for?" he grinned as Katara kissed his cheek. Zuko grinned back and dug into his pizza as everyone started chatting again.

"So how's your father liking it as interim Mayor?" Teo wondered as Toph started falling asleep in his arms, making him chuckle.

Sokka stopped eating for a second and laughed. "He's doing a great job, but he much prefers to be a police chief. He says that being Mayor is too boring because of all of the paperwork." The group laughed together as Zuko unwillingly laughed with them, not being able to hold himself back.

"Too bad he can't be our actual Mayor," Haru said as he held Ty Lee's hand. "Then we would never have to worry about him being corrupted."

Aang laughed a little before an idea came to mind. "Well, maybe we can get him there," he thought aloud, taking everyone else by surprise.

"Really?" Katara asked as she looked up at him from his lap.

He nodded slowly in thought. "Yeah… I mean he's already got a great reputation from being a police chief. If he would be okay with it, we could run a campaign for him and make him the Mayor. Then we wouldn't have to worry about corruption for a while."

"That would be interesting to have our dad as a Mayor," Sokka mused as he thought it over. "I guess we could give it a shot and see if he would want to."

Katara thought it over and nodded her agreement. "Yeah, he might be willing to do it. Especially since he won't want to have to go through what happened over the last couple months." Everyone nodded in agreement as the room became quiet, memories of their time flooding over them.

"We've been through so much in such a short time, haven't we?" Suki asked as they all snapped back to reality.

"Yeah, you could say that," Teo agreed as he Toph finally fell asleep against him, making him softly laugh to not wake her.

Aang looked around the room at all of his friends. "It's kind of funny how big our group has gotten," he thought aloud as he looked them each in the face. "At the beginning, I thought I would end up doing everything on my own. I never wanted anyone to get involved because I knew how dangerous it could end up being." He smiled as Katara dug her face into his chest. "But now, I'm glad that you guys are here. I don't think I could have done it without you."

Katara smiled and looked up at him. "And we couldn't have done it without you."

"Yeah," Sokka agreed with a smile. "We wouldn't be where we are without you as our leader. If it wasn't for you, none of this would ever have happened. We might all have been under Ozai's thumb if it wasn't for you."

Zuko looked at Aang with a small smile. "If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would ever have gotten my freedom from my father. I was pretty much planning on spending the rest of my life working for him." He paused and let out a long sigh. "I just wish I had a family to go back to." He became surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Jin looking at him with a warm smile.

"We're your family now," she told him with her smile intact. "We'll always be here for you, no matter what. Right guys?" Everyone nodded in agreement as he smiled a little.

"Thanks guys," he said gratefully before he returned his attention to Jin. "And thank you."

Jin smiled and gave him a hug. "No problem," she whispered as he hugged her back. The group gave each other knowing looks, but neither one of them saw what was happening. After a few moments, they pulled away and watched as Aang stood up, much to Katara's disapproval.

"She's right," he grinned as he looked around at the group. "We're a family now. We'll always be there for each other when no one else will. Right?"

"You bet!" Ty Lee said cheerily as Haru laughed and kissed her cheek.

"I don't know about _always_... " Sokka said before Suki glared at him. He gulped and nodded. "Of course. Always!" Everyone laughed at him before they stood up.

"Come on. How about we go have some fun?" Aang asked them. They all cheered and followed him out as they made their way to the dance floor, ready to celebrate their victory with some fun.

* * *

Several hours later, Zuko sat at the top of the rooftop entrance, thinking of his lost love. Even if he knew that he would have to move on with his life, he would never forget her. He never wanted to. She was his everything and he would hold onto her memory for as long as he could.

"Hey."

Whipping around quickly, he was surprised to see Jin standing there with an embarrassed blush. "Oh," he sighed in relief before he sat back down. "It's just you."

She laughed a little and sat down next to him. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

"It's fine,' he assured her as he went back to his thoughts. She wasn't finished, however, and decided to push further. "I'm really sorry about what happened to your fiance."

He let out a long sigh and didn't speak for a moment. "Thanks," he finally replied shortly, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

She knew she shouldn't be bothering him right now, but she could see the pain he was in and couldn't bear to see him like that. Her instincts wouldn't allow her to just leave him alone. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked gingerly, not wanting to make him more cross with her.

His eyes looked down at the floor as he pondered what she asked. Zuko had never been one to open himself up to others, least of all to people he barely knew, but something about her made him open up to her as he poured his heart out. "I'm worried," he admitted slowly, reluctantly letting his barriers down.

"Worried?" she asked in confusion.

He nodded slowly. "I'm worried. I know that I won't ever forget her, but I'm worried that I'll forget the little things that I love. I'm worried that I'll forget who she really was."

Jin was silent for a moment. "I think I know what you mean," she admitted, taking him by surprise as he looked at her. "I loved this guy when I was in high school, and I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with him." She paused and looked down sadly. "But he ended up dying in a car crash. The last thing he told me over the phone was that he loved me. I'll never forget that day."

"I'm really sorry," Zuko said with sadness and understanding evident in his voice.

"It's okay," she sighed as she looked over at him. "But I went through the same thing as you did. I understand that you're scared you'll forget about certain things, but let me tell you, they'll never go away as long as you think of them."

Zuko was silent for another few moments before he nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I guess that's all we really can do, isn't it?"

"Pretty much," she agreed with a small smile. "But if there's one thing I know, it's that he would have wanted me to move on with my life and be happy." She paused and put her hand on his, making blush a little as he avoided her eyes. "And I'm sure that's what Mai would want for you, too."

Zuko sighed again and nodded slowly. "Yeah, she probably would. But not yet. I need some time to let everything settle down before I try going back out there again."

"Of course," Jin replied with an understanding smile. "Just remember: We'll always be here for you if you ever need us."

He looked at her gratefully. "Thank you. I'm glad I got to talk about this."

She smiled and gave him a hug which he returned, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. "No problem," she murmured as they continued to hug until someone cleared their throat behind them. They turned around quickly to see their friends there.

"What are you guys doing up here?" Sokka asked curiously as he moved to sit next to Zuko. Suki sat next to Sokka with Aang, Katara, and Toph to her left while the rest went to Jin's right.

"Oh we were just talking," Jin said before Zuko could speak up. Not that he was complaining.

"Okay," Sokka shrugged. He looked up at the stars and gasped in amazement. "Wow, the stars sure look beautiful tonight."

Aang looked up and smiled. "They sure do. I've been up here a lot, but I don't think they've ever been this clear before."

Katara leaned against him and let out a content sigh. "I've always loved watching the stars. Even when I was a little girl in the South Pole, the stars were just so bright and captivating."

"Is it easier to see them in the South Pole?" Suki wondered.

"Yeah," Sokka spoke up. "There's so little pollution there, it's like you could reach out and touch them."

Aang smiled as he thought about that. "Maybe we could go down there sometime."

Katara looked up at him in surprise. "Wouldn't you be worried about the city?" she asked curiously.

"I'm always worried about the city," he dismissed her worries. "Besides, now that Ozai's out of the way, the city's going to be back to as it should be. As long at least a few people stay behind, we should be okay."

She smiled and kissed him. "I would love to go. What do you think, Sokka?" she asked as she looked at him.

"That sounds like it could be fun," he pondered as Suki snuggled into him. "What do you think, Suki?"

Suki thought about it for a few moments before she shrugged. "Sure. Why not? It could be fun, and I've always wondered what it was like at the poles."

"It's incredibly cold," Sokka laughed as he saw the expression on her face at his words. "We would have to wear a lot of clothes, but it's absolutely beautiful down there."

"Okay," she agreed reluctantly. "I'm not looking forward to the cold, but if you really want to, then I'm okay with it." He smiled and kissed her cheek as they all sat in a comfortable silence.

After a few minutes, Zuko turned to Aang. "Hey Aang?"

Aang looked over to Zuko without moving. "Yeah?"

"I never thanked you for letting me join the group," Zuko started with a small smile as he looked back up to the stars. "So thank you."

Aang became puzzled as he looked at him in surprise. "You want to thank me for that? But-"

"I know," Zuko cut him off, feeling a little sadness return as he thought of his love. "But before I joined your group, I never thought that I would actually have purpose for my life. I thought that I would just end up working for my father until I wasn't of use anymore and he threw me away. What I'm trying to say is, being in this group has given me a purpose that I never thought I would have." He looked at him gratefully. "So thank you for giving me that chance."

Aang grinned and nodded. "Of course. Thank you for helping us. We couldn't have done it without you."

Zuko smiled and nodded before looking back to the stars as Jin scooted imperceptibly closer to him, though he didn't notice. The group fell into a comfortable silence again as they all thought about what had happened over their time together. Even though there had been a lot of bad, there was a lot of good too. Although Aang hated that Katara had to be tortured, he would forever be grateful that he got to save her from the warehouse. He might not have ever met her if Ozai hadn't had her kidnapped, and he didn't want to think about what life would have been like without her. As these thoughts went through his mind, his phone buzzed. Curious, he took it out and his eyes widened as he stared at the screen. Zuko noticed his surprise as he looked at him. "What's wrong, Aang?"

Aang was frozen in shock for another moment before he looked up to him. "I just got a text… from your mother. She's alive."


End file.
